From the Ashes
by Clarkeleven
Summary: After Bella Swans mother is killed in a freak "animal attack", she has no choice but to move back with her father in Forks, Washington. She thought she was normal, nothing special, nothing worth looking at twice. That is, until she's aggressively thrust in to the world of the supernatural. Alice/Bella, because I'm secretly obsessed. Enjoy.
1. Chapter 1: Don't Look Back

**Hello all, thanks for clicking on my story! I've attempted fanfiction once before, but rushed it too much and the plot fell apart, so this time I'm taking it slow, and fleshing things out before I dive in head first. This is definitely a Bellice story, so don't read if you're not prepared for that! If anyone has suggestions, or ideas they'd like to pitch, shoot me a message! I've got most of the plot figured out, but I'm open to new events. Enjoy!**

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 _Death is easy...peaceful. Life is harder, especially when the one person who means the most isn't around to be a part of it. My name is Isabella Marie Swan, and today was the day I helped lower my mothers' casket in to the ground._

No one ever prepares for that feeling. We always expect our mothers to help us through the hardest years of life; high school, college, marriage, kids. Bella remembered thinking how happy Renee would be to be a grandmother one day. She was always bubbly, eccentric, and amazing with children, as if she was born for that purpose, just for family. Sometimes she was so free spirited that Bella had to keep her grounded and her mom would tell her she was too serious, much like her father Charlie. Not that it was an insult or a bad thing, despite Renee and Charlie being divorced they were never on bad terms, and Bella loved her father dearly.

The funeral had lasted about two hours, and Bella had barely been mentally present, still not fully grasping that it was actually happening. Renee's work colleagues had shown up, her parents (Bella's grandparents), some of her close friends, as well as book club members and some people from the YMCA that she frequented. They all tried to offer their condolences to Bella and Phil, but all she could do was thank them and return the gestures mechanically. It wasn't until the Priest had asked if anyone wanted to say a few words that she stepped up to the podium, mostly being urged on by Phil, and it hit her all at once. She didn't make it through everything she wanted to say before breaking down and having to return to her seat, where her step-dad enveloped her in a firm embrace and let her cry it out.

Bella was the only one who knew anything about her mothers' death. It had been unfathomable, to say the least, and she saw no point in trying to explain in detail. Not only because people wouldn't believe her, but even worse they might think her legitimately insane. The police listed it as an animal attack, for lack of better explanation, but she knew better. She had been there. Her eyes glazed over as she retreated in to the depths of her mind, conjuring up the memory once more.

 _The sun had just set for the day, the air was cool and stars littered a darkened sky. Bella was in the backyard with their year old rescue dog, Mayor, relaxing on one of their white painted adirondack chairs under the hanging porch lights made from old mason jars. A project that Phil and Renee had set out to complete, with Phil taking care of most of the wiring. They didn't have a fence, they hadn't really seen a need to install one. Mayor was a well behaved, well trained canine who was never keen on leaving his family's side and they lived in an exceptionally safe neighborhood, where break-ins were rare, if not completely unheard of. There was just a partial rock wall barrier on the sides, no higher than two or three feet, that Phil had built to separate their yard from any of the neighbors, but the back was left open._

 _Bella had been enjoying the unusual night breeze, leaning back with her eyes closed when Mayor had begun to behave strangely, he was whimpering gently from his place beside Bella, staring intently in to the darkness that overtook the desert behind the yard. It wasn't until he suddenly decided too take off that Bella realized something was wrong, and despite her better judgement, she followed him._

 _"Mayor!" She called, whistling and clicking her tongue, running as fast as her legs would carry her, hoping to catch him before he got too far. "Come back, boy!"_

 _The only thing that she could make out was the reflective plate on his collar, which was becoming less and less visible the further they got from the back porch and the lights. This wasn't good, if she went any deeper she would end up lost and she didn't have her cell phone on her. Exhausted and out of breath, Bella finally caught up to the canine, placing her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. Looking back up, she realized Mayor's fur was standing straight up, with his hackles raised and lips drawn back in a snarl, directing it at something in the wall of darkness that she couldn't see._

 _"Bella? Bella where are you!?" Came the distant sounding, frantic cry of her mother from the yard._

 _Bella was frozen in fear. Staring back at her and Mayor from the shadows was a pair of bright yellow, menacing eyes. At first, she thought it might be a cougar, they were similar in color and shape, but there was no way a cougar was that tall. Then she heard it. A low rumbling noise, something that sounded like it was straight out of Dragonheart._

 _Mayor backed away, whining and growling simultaneously as the creature lurched forward. Bella tried to scramble backward, to turn and run, but her curse of being a klutz kicked in and she tripped, falling back on to her butt as it moved closer, towering over the two of them, saliva dripping from its snarling jaws. It was like nothing she had ever seen, or even imagined in her worst nightmares._

 _The beast was at least six feet at the shoulder, its face was vaguely humanoid, slightly flattened but with a lion-like nose and eyes, and framed by a wild, tangled mane of hair. Its body was massive and muscular, covered in a mixture of course fur, with a pair of bat-like wings and what looked like Scorpion stinger in place of its tail that was almost longer than its body._

 _"BELLA! BELLA GET UP AND RUN!" Renee screeched, running toward the petrified girl._

 _That seemed to snap her free of her trance and she leapt to her feet, turning heel and sprinting in the opposite direction without a second thought. She squeezed her eyes tightly to the sound of Mayor attempting to fight it off, trying to ignore the sound of her companions' howls of pain. There was a snap and they stopped abruptly. She chanced a glance back, and screamed at what she saw. The beast was closing in, its maw covered in the dogs' blood and snapping its teeth violently at her. Bella turned back to see her mother getting closer._

 _"GET IN THE HOUSE! CALL 911, AND NO MATTER WHAT YOU HEAR, DO NOT LEAVE!" As Renee passed her, she grabbed her and gave her a swift kiss on the forehead, "No matter what happens Bella-Bug, I love you more than anything in this world. Never forget that."_

 _With that, she shoved her only daughter toward the house, and ran straight toward the horrifying beast. Weaving past the patio furniture, Bella skidded inside, slamming the back door shut and grabbing her phone, frantically calling the emergency line. Her adrenaline was pumping too hard for her to fully explain what was going on, but fortunately the emergency dispatch caught on to the urgency of the situation. She dropped the phone, ignoring the urgent voice of the dispatch woman encouraging her to stay calm and hide, and sliding down with her back against the door. It was like being in hell, with her hands cupping her ears as tightly as she tried to drown out the sounds of her mothers' screams._

 _She wanted to rip the door open and run to her, to help protect her, to not be a coward, but her legs were paralyzed in fear, and no matter how much she willed it, she couldn't get them to move. Bella held her breath when things grew quiet, only the sound of heavy paw steps filling the air. Whatever it was, was closing in on the house. That's when she heard the sirens closing in on the house, and the noise must have been enough to scare away whatever was out there because it never made it to the yard._

 _The next thing she knew, she was being led out of the house by a pair of officers with a blanket draped over her shoulders. In her shock, she barely heard them talking. They were talking about her, about her mother and the dog, and how whatever had been there must have been chased off by the sirens. The beast was gone, and it had taken the life of her beloved pet, and her beloved mother, with it._

The brunette shook herself from the memory with a start as a knock sounded at the bedroom door. She looked up from her place in the middle of the bed, quickly stacking the photos she'd been looking at and gently shoving them in to a manila envelope, which she carefully placed in the bottom of one of her bags. She realized she had been crying and quickly wiped the tears from her cheeks, trying to look as put together as possible before giving Phil the all clear.

"Hey, sweetie," The statuesque, bald headed man slowly pushed the door open and made his way to the bed, sitting on the edge and turning to face her. "Are you almost ready?"

Phil was a kind man. Bella's mother had married him when she was about twelve, and although he could never replace her father, he treated her as if he was her own.

"Yeah, I just had a few more things to pack, but I think I'm ready." She tried to force a small smile, whether for her sake or his, she didn't know.

It didn't fool him though, he knew she was hurting just as much, if not more, than himself, and with a knowing look he held out his arms and Bella allowed him to swallow her in to a hug. She knew she would miss his hugs the most, they were always warm and made her feel protected, especially with him being so much larger than her. After a few moments, and a few escaped tears on her part, Phil removed himself and held her at arm's length, gently wiping away the drops that slid down her cheeks.

"It'll be okay, Bella-Bug, maybe not today, or very soon, but I promise we'll both get through this. Let's get going before we miss your flight." He gave her a quick, comforting smile before leaving the room.

Bella gave a genuine smile in response to Phil's nickname for her. It was one of those things that made her feel like she was really his family, especially when her mother adopted it as well. She stood up and grabbed the last two bags she needed (one duffel bag and her personal backpack) before making her way to the door, stopping to survey the room one last time. It seemed barren and sad now, with most of her things either already shipped to Charlies, or stuffed away in the luggage to go with her on the flight. All that remained was a bed, a dresser, and a few other furniture items that she saw no point in trying to bring, seeing as Charlie assured her that he had everything she would need at his house.

As she made her way through the house, she stopped in each room to briefly relive the memories they had all made in that house. The only room she avoided was her mom's room, without even seeing it she thought of all the times the two of them had girls' night, sitting on her bed eating ice cream and watching stupid reality shows because they were her mom's favorite. She finally made it downstairs and through the front door when she heard Phil calling out from the driver's side of the car.

"I love you Bella-Bug but we've got to leave now or we'll miss the flight!" He didn't sound impatient or angry, just slightly urgent.

After locking the front door for the last time, she climbed in the passenger side, apologizing to him for the delay.

"There's no reason to say sorry, I understand. Honestly, it's taking everything I have not to sit here and reminisce about all of the good times we've had here." A pained look flashed across his face momentarily, before he gathered his composure, "Anyway, we're about an hour from the airport, if you want to take a nap there's a pillow in the back seat."

Bella nodded in acknowledgement, but she didn't feel very tired. Instead, she put her head phones in and leaned the seat back slightly, watching Phoenix, Arizona fly by as she blared her music. She swallowed a lump in her throat, opting to imagine what Forks would like instead of dwelling on the place she had called home for so long. It was going to be a few long, emotional and busy days.

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 **I don't know if FF will notify of changes to chapters, but after revisiting my story (thanks to another spark of inspiration) I realized I didn't like how bare the first chapter seemed, so I tried to flesh it out a little more. To be totally honest, I might add to it again but I need to kick in to gear on finishing the third. Enjoy!**


	2. Chapter 2: From Now On

**Wow, guys! So far I've had some positive responses on the follower count, so that's great! Enjoy!**

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It felt impossible for Bella to tear herself out of Phils arms to board the plane. The two of them had become closer than ever in the days since her mother passing, and he was one of the biggest pillars of support in her heart. Bella let her tears fall freely, not even pretending to feel guilty when they started soaking her step-dads shirt, not that he seemed to mind because he was crying just as openly. Phil loved her more than life itself, with Renee being gone he had somewhat latched to his step-daughter emotionally now that she was the only child and family that he had left.

"I love you, Bella-Bug." He choked out, kissing her forehead as she sobbed in to his shirt for another minute.

"I-I love you too, Phil. You'll visit, and write, and call won't you?" She hiccupped slightly, pulling away and rubbing her wet cheeks with her jacket sleeves.

Phil gripped her shoulders and lowered himself slightly so he was eye level, "I promise to visit and call you as often as I can, and if you ever need anything, I'm here."

The tears started free falling again and she wrapped her arms around him one more time before finally tearing herself away to follow the other passengers to the boarding dock. She chanced a glance back and couldn't help but smile, Phil was standing there with an ear-to-ear grin filled with a warmth that she was going to miss, and hoped that she would get to see again soon.

The flight itself wasn't the worst thing, in fact, she was used to it. Between the summer visits to Charlie in her early teens, and Phils' constant need to take family vacations out of state (which she would never understand, she hated heights and there were plenty of good places in Arizona), she'd gotten used to squashing the nervousness of being in a giant, flying metal deathtrap. Bella wrapped her plain black hoodie tightly around herself, jammed her headphones in her ears, and hunkered down for the remainder of the trip, praying that she'd be able to fall asleep for most of it.

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Bella stretched and yawned when she felt the passengers next to her jostling around, she figured that meant they had landed and she was right. It felt like it was taking forever to shift through the sea of bodies exiting the plane, and she just hoped Charlie would be standing somewhere he would be easy to find. Craning her neck to try and look over people, Bella sighed in relief when she spotted her stoic father dutifully waiting for her at the baggage claim.

It was days like this where Bella was glad her dad was equally as awkward and soft spoken as she was. She'd spent the first half of the flight going over what to say to Charlie when she first saw him, such as, would it be weird if she called him Charlie? Probably. She hadn't really seen him beyond the rare summer visit since she was a kid, though it wasn't particularly his fault, her mom was just an all-consuming force and there was never a non-busy season for her.

"Hey Bells." He gave a sideways smile and pulled her in for a one armed hug. It seemed her aversion to physical contact also came from him, which wasn't much of a surprise considering her mother had been one of the most touchy-feely people she'd known.

"Hey Char- Dad." Bella corrected, shaking her head to clear up her internal monologue and hoping he hadn't notice the slip up.

If he did, he was either being polite or wasn't bothered by it, because he just grunted in acknowledgement and started grabbing a few of her bags. Lucky for both of them, Bella only had about four or five bags, three of which were clothes, and two with just random assortments of carefully packed personal items.

They made their way down a couple of escalator sets and shuffled through the automatic doors only to be met with a borderline torrential downpour. Bella knew that compared to Phoenix, most places in Washington were going to seem rainy and dreary. To her it seemed sort of poetically sad but she chose not to dwell on it and once again plugged her headphones in for the hour drive to Forks, thanking whatever deity that Charlie wasn't a talker. She wasn't sure she had it in her for much conversation.

The trip went faster than she expected, and she had to admit that the scenery in Forks was beautiful. Everything was a mixture of green, grey and blue, a stark contrast to the yellows, reds and browns of Arizona. Eventually they pulled up on an older, white, Victorian style home, the very same two-bedroom, two-story house that he had lived in when she was a kid. Seeing it gave her a calming sense of familiarity and stability, even though she hadn't been in the house in years.

Charlie helped her haul the bags to her room, which remained nearly untouched by time. Seriously, her sheets were still pink and covered in flowers. She was definitely going to have to change that. The rest, however, wasn't all too bad, her walls were still a bright blue, even the window curtains were the same ones from her childhood. Charlie had put an modern desk and computer in the corner, and on the opposite wall sat a white dresser with a full sized mirror attached.

"I kept most of it the same, I thought it might be good, you know, to have something familiar." He cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck.

Bella smiled, his nervous behavior was endearing, he was always so keen to please her and she vaguely wondered if that's what she looked like to others sometimes.

"Thanks, Dad." She uncharacteristically wrapped both arms around his torso. He seemed in momentary shock, but wrapped his arms around her, swallowing her almost as much as Phil did.

"Always, Bells, and you know…" Charlie trailed off, "I know your mom and I weren't close, but if you ever need to talk….I'm here, okay? I love you sweetie."

She nodded in to his chest, biting back the stinging tears that threatened to fall at his admission.

"I love you too, Dad, and I'll remember that." Bella pulled back and gave him the best smile she could muster up.

"Then uh, I'll leave you to it kiddo." He started to leave but popped his head back in at the last minute, "I almost forgot! Billy Black and his son are coming over tonight for pizza, Billy says that Jacob has been practically bouncing off the walls waiting for you to come to Forks again. You remember Jake, right?"

Without waiting for a response, he was gone again. Bella sat on the bed and flopped on to her back, crossing her arms over her eyes and trying not to think about anything at all. She remembered Jake alright, they used to make mud pies together when they were kids, long before her parents' separation. He always followed her around like a lost puppy, even after she had wrestled him to the ground and tried to make him eat afore mentioned mud pies. Despite their weird friendship, she loved him dearly, like the brother she never had. Even through their scarce visits, nothing ever changed between the two of them.

It took Bella less than a couple of hours to get all of her clothes hung or folded in to drawers, knick-knacks placed strategically, and her sheets changed to a set of standard silver and white. She tilted one ear toward the bedroom door and took off downstairs at the sound of laughter and voices. Billy was standing near the doorway in a wheelchair with four pizza boxes and a case of beer for him and Charlie, and she barely had time to react before she was picked up (by what was possibly a boulder with arms) and spun around.

"BELLA!" Jake cried, wrapping her up in a bone-crushing hug as she descended the stair well.

"Jake!" She laughed, flailing her legs a bit and attempting to squeeze him equally as tight, to no avail.

The big oaf set her back upright and her jaw dropped when she finally stepped back to take him in. The small, scrawny, fun-loving kid from the Res had transformed in to in to a dark-skinned Adonis. Seriously, if she thought Phil was a big guy, there was no way she was prepared for the drastic difference in her best friend. Jake towered over all of them at a whopping six-foot-five at least, and he looked as though he could bench press three or four of her.

"My God, Jake, what happened? Have you been injecting steroids? Where did your long flowing locks go?!" She gave an expression of mock horror.

"He had a hell of a growth spurt, Bells." Billy laughed, rolling his wheelchair to the living room to set everything out.

"I've been trying to talk him in to sports, but he won't go for it." Charlie grumbled.

"Oh come on, I have way too much of an unfair advantage, sports are only fun if you're actually being challenged!" Jake whined, before suddenly whirling back to Bella, "I almost forgot! We have a gift for you. She's not finished yet, but I'll be over while you're at school for the next few days to make the last repairs."

Bella narrowed her eyes suspiciously at how he phrased that. She was never one for surprises, and when he stepped behind her and covered her eyes with his massive hands she bit her lip nervously, barely allowing him to lead her toward the doorway.

"Should I really trust you to lead me blind out the door? Because I'm a klutz, and I know there's a set of steps outside." She quipped.

"Don't worry Bella," Billy's voice drifted from somewhere to her left, "I have to put that same faith in Charlie with my wheel chair!"

"Be glad I don't roll you in to the street, you old badger." Charlie mumbled with a grin, pushing him outside with the teenagers on their tail.

"Alright, step, step," Jake slowly led her down, keeping a solid hold on one arm, "Ready?"

"Do I have to answer that?"

He snorted and removed his hand, turning her to face a large, old, step-side Chevy truck sitting in the driveway next to Charlie's cruiser. Bella's jaw dropped in awe. It wasn't much of a looker, the paint was old and chipped in quite a few places, it was bulky and definitely looked like it had seen better days, but it was beautiful and Bella could totally see herself in it.

"T-that's for me? No way." She stuttered out, walking over to run her fingers along the drivers' side door.

"Of course, I just bought it off Billy here, and Jake has been working on all the repairs and upgrades." Charlie smiled, thrilled that she seemed to like it.

"Yup, gave him a great deal too!" Billy snorted, "Can't very well use it in my condition anyway, at least it'll get some use."

Jake walked over and patted the hood, "She's not the prettiest, don't get me wrong, but when I'm done she's going to purr like a well-oiled machine. Literally."

Bella's eyes welled up slightly at the gesture. She chewed her bottom lip, thinking about a conversation she had recently had with her mother and Phil about getting her a vehicle to take to and from school, that way her mom would have more free time. The emotional brunette whirled around and threw herself in to Charlie's arms, and without hesitation he squeezed her tight.

"Thank you Dad, you didn't have to do that, but I love it," She said in to the crook of his neck.

"Anything for you, Bells, I figured it would be a lot easier on you if you had your own ride, I also didn't think you'd want your old police chief dad dropping you off in the cruiser!" He rubbed her back a couple of times before separating.

"Wait, but how will I get to school until it's done? If you're goal is to not embarrass me in my first week." She joked, cocking an eyebrow.

"That's where I come in," Jake smacked a heavy hand down on her shoulder, nearly toppling her, "Since I'll be here during the day working on it, I'll drop you off and pick you up until it's done. I promise my ride is a thousand times cooler than your dads."

"Alright you three, the day isn't getting any younger, and we've got four different types of pizza and a lot of catching up to do. Move it, you sack of bones!" Billy waved Charlie toward the door.

"You might watch that tongue, I still haven't decided against rolling you in to traffic!" Charlie bit back light-heartedly, grabbing the wheelchair handles and dragging him backward up the porch steps.

Bella stood outside for a minute longer, fondly watching her father and Billy go back and forth like teenage boys before grabbing Jakes' outstretched hand and following them inside. Not having her mother around was proving to be one of the hardest things she's ever experienced, but she thought if her days continued like this, with the other side of her family surrounding her, she might be okay.

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 **Once again I went back and made some revisions. Though, I was more satisfied with this chapter than the first, so it's just a few subtle changes, like a few words here and there**


	3. Chapter 3: Just a Dream

**Wowza! Been a while guys! I feel bad, I had this chapter mostly written a long time ago, but due to some life stuff I kind of lost inspiration. It came back though! You also may or may not have noticed some changes made to the first two chapters, as well as some formatting issues. Im trying to get those resolved, but for now, enjoy chapter 3!**

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The sunlight filtered in through the white curtains and smacked Bella in the face, eliciting a groan. She rolled over and pulled the comforter tighter over her head, not quite ready to face the day. After spending most of the evening with Billy, Charlie and Jake, they all eventually wore themselves out and decided to call it a night, with her and Jake exchanging numbers and him promising to be there bright and early. He was serious, too, because just then she heard the slamming of the front door and the muffled voices of him and her dad.

It had been all good and well until it was time for her to actually go to sleep. She'd spent most of the night suffering from aggressive nightmares. With another groan of frustration, Bella finally swung her legs over the side of the bed, rubbing her face somewhat vigorously and patting her cheeks in an attempt to wake up. Her eyes were swollen and red, her cheeks a little puffy and tear stained, and much to her dismay, she'd forgotten to take off her makeup which was now smeared everywhere.

Bella felt awful for Charlie, though, at least all she had to worry about was school, but her poor dad had to spend a much longer day at work after spending most of the night consoling her. She let her eyes go out of focus as she stared at her closed door, recalling the reason for their rough morning. She had seen those eyes in her nightmares, those damned yellow eyes and blood covered razors that lined the mouth of the creature responsible for her mother passing.

Bella remembered feeling like she was suffocating, like no matter how fast she ran it was always hot on her trail, it's disgusting breath like death crawling down her spine as it snarled. She heard Mayors howls, and at some point she could no longer distinguish her screams from her mothers'. Apparently she had been thrashing and crying in her sleep, because the nightmare was (fortunately) cut short and instead of menacing yellow, she woke up to a pair of chocolate brown eyes that mirrored her own. Charlie held her while she sobbed, rubbing soothing circles on her back and whispering that it was going to be okay, that he wouldn't let anything happen. Bless his heart, he ended up holding Bella until she fell in to another restless sleep and stayed with her until he thought she would be okay.

"BELLA!" Her thoughts were rudely interrupted by Jake slamming her bedroom door open, "Wake up sunshine!"

"Jacob Black, what would you have done if I was getting dressed?!" She exclaimed, crossing the room and waving a scolding finger in his face.

He gave her an ear-splitting grin, looking her up and down one time, "It would be easier for you to look intimidating, and for me to take you seriously, if you weren't wearing blue kitten pajamas."

"Why- you- I-"Bella sputtered indignantly, her face flushing a deep red, "Out! I need to get ready!"

Jake guffawed as he allowed Bella to shove him out of the room. She slammed the door behind him and, while gathering some clothes and school stuff together, made a mental note to ask how he had gotten so ridiculously large. After throwing some shirts here, and jeans there, Bella finally settled on a simple pair of black skinny jeans that looked faded in front, a dark red T-shirt that said "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." in big black letters, then in a smaller font underneath it read "Except for bears. Bears will kill you.", and a pair of simple black, red and white sneakers. Her wardrobe was not particularly diverse, it mainly consisted of a mixture of blue jeans and skinny jeans, and an undue amount of t-shirts with ridiculous jokes or puns that Phil had slowly helped her accumulate, much to her mothers' chagrin. Renee had tried to strongly encourage some variety, but it didn't work very well.

Bella rubbed her hands on her face, hoping to rub away the thoughts. The last thing she needed right before her first day at a new school was to remind herself of the traumatizing events of the last month. Her feet carried her to the restroom where she finished her morning routine. Brush the hair, brush the teeth, moisturize the face, contemplate the universe and give herself a mild existential crisis while she debated the meaning of life, just the usual things. She briefly considered making breakfast, but she'd already woken up late and from the urgency in his voice, she could tell Jake was tired of waiting for her.

"Bellaaaaa," The great buffoon whined from where he leaned against the kitchen door frame, "Charlie already left for work, he's going to be ticked at me if you're later on your first day!"

"Relax, you man-child," Bella descended the stair case, stifling laughter at his huff of annoyance "He understands, I'll make sure he doesn't maim you….too much."

He rolled his eyes and ushered her out the door, barely giving her time to grab a nearly empty backpack Charlie had left by the front door. He said he had gone shopping just before picking her up and bought her a few important items for school, including a few spiral notebooks, pens and mechanical pencils, which she was grateful for because her and packed department stores did not go hand in hand. She hated shopping for anything, sometimes including groceries, she felt way too self-conscious wandering around shops and it felt like people were always watching her even if they weren't.

Bella stepped outside and took in her surroundings. The weather was surprisingly nice, it was cloudy (which is the usual for Forks), but the temperature felt somewhere between seventy and seventy-five, and it didn't look like there was too much of a chance of rain despite the lack of sun. Thank goodness, because the brunette teenager stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed what was parked next to her truck; something she would especially refuse if the roads were slick. No. No, no, and more no. There, in all its shimmering, attention drawing glory, was a solid black motorcycle. Bella knew absolutely nothing about vehicles, but she knew that she attracted misfortune like a magnet, and worse still, every student would surely notice the heavy roaring of the bikes engine. That's what she needed, to get the attention of everyone and anyone on the first day.

"Bella, meet my baby. I spent yeeaars saving up for her!" Like a kid on Christmas, he practically bounced up to it, "It's a Triumph Bonneville, nothing fancy, but I love it."

"Jacob Black, if you think for even one second that I'm getting on the back of that screaming metal death trap with you, you've got another thing coming!" She shovedpushed away the helmet he tried to offer her.

"Come on Bella," He forced the helmet in to her hands, "This is my only ride, and you've got to get to school one way or another. I don't think you'd want to explain that you missed your first day just because you were scared of a little bike." He teased.

She filled her cheeks with air, Jacob thought she reminded him of a pufferfish as he watched the emotions flicker through her eyes. Of course, she knew he was right, but that didn't mean she had to agree or be happy about it. Blowing the air out of her lungs slowly, Bella begrudgingly slid the helmet on to her head, stepping forward and jamming one thin, pale finger in to his broad chest.

"Speed limit. It exists, follow it, if you so much as _attempt_ any stupid stunts, I will _never_ get back on this bike with you and I won't speak to you for at least two months."

"My, my, Miss Swan, don't you trust me? I'd never put you in danger!" Jacob chuckled, climbing on the bike and waiting for her to get settled behind him before slipping on his own helmet. "Hold on tight Bella, and have a little faith."

Bella squeezed her eyes shut, head leaned against his back and arms encircling his waist in what she thought was practically a death grip, but it didn't seem to faze Jacob at all. The engine roared to life and they sped out of the drive way and off toward the direction she assumed the high school was in. Bella kept her eyes closed for most of the ride, and she would never admit it to him, but feeling the air whipping around them at high speeds was thrilling. If she didn't know better, she could've sworn they were actually flying.

* * *

She knew it. She knew it was going to happen and it was like another nightmare come true (albeit nothing compared to the ones she had suffered from last night). Jacob slowed down and pulled in to the parking lot entrance, the thundering of the engine causing heads all across the area to turn in search of the source. After picking a parking spot at the far end of the lot, he killed the engine and pulled off his own helmet, having expected Bella to follow suit but grunting and peering down at her tightly locked hands when she didn't. Jacob brushed her hands with his own, patting one of them lightly before trying to gentle pry apart her pale fingers.

"Bella, we're here, you're going to have to let go." He chuckled merrily, laughing a little harder when she jumped and ripped her arms from his torso.

Bella mentally slapped herself; she hadn't meant to hold on so fixedly and certainly not so long. Her cheeks flushed red when she uncurled her arms and almost violently wrenched the heavy helmet off her head, huffing indignantly at the mess it had made of her hair. She combed her fingers through her dark brown tresses, doing her best to straighten out the tangles as she took in her surroundings. Her skin crawled when she realized people were still staring, and she flinched when she felt a soft jacket placed on her shoulders.

"Jake, people are staring. How am I supposed to keep from drawing attention with you making that so difficult." She hissed, sliding her arms in the sleeves and pulling the lightweight bomber jacket tighter around her.

Jake didn't seem to hear a word he said, she looked up to see his dark gaze trained on something on the other side of the parking lot. Bella started to follow his line of sight, but before she could pin point what had his attention, the burly man threw an arm over her shoulder and turned her toward the school. She took note that it felt as if he was almost vibrating, and his voice seemed strained when he spoke next.

"Come on Bellsy! I'll walk you inside to get your schedule!" He said a little too quickly, steering both of them toward the doorway.

Bella glanced at him sideways, contorting her face in to a look of curiosity but decided to let it drop for now and just deal with the issue at hand. Getting through the crowd and getting her class list before anyone could really bother her. She sighed; it was going to be a long day.

* * *

Oh, how right she had been. After steering her to the front desk of the office to get her classes (to which she was still unsure of how Jake even knew where to go since she knew for a fact he never attended that school) he promptly abandoned her to find them all alone. Within five minutes of leaving the office she was approached by a kid named Eric Yorkie, an olive-skinned boy with straight, black hair. He introduced himself as the editor of the school newspaper and adamantly tried to get her to agree to be on the front page feature, to which she politely declined. Bella had hoped he would leave her be after that, but he was determined and insisted on helping her find her classes. She couldn't deny that she was slightly grateful, it helped her avoid looking like an idiot wandering around and hunting down room numbers.

By happy coincidence (or a stroke of bad luck, she hadn't decided which one yet) they had the same first period English. The teacher had paid almost no mind to them entering a few minutes late and simply waved them off to find a couple of seats. To her delight, there were only two available and they were on separate sides of the room. Eric pouted a bit at that realization and she almost felt guilty, but quickly shoved the feeling down and snagged the one in the back corner, leaving the one in the middle to him. As the period dragged by, every time the teacher turned his back Eric would twist around in his seat and start making stupid faces at her. They didn't do much at first, but eventually she couldn't help but cover her mouth to keep from laughing. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

Each class following English bored her just as much, if not more. Her high school in Phoenix had been more than a couple of lesson plans ahead, so she felt like she just had to redo every little thing. Bella had never been so excited to hear the bell for lunch echo through the halls. Jake and his stupid face hadn't given her a second to grab something for breakfast and so far her stomach had been rumbling lowly all morning. Lost in her thoughts, Bella walked aimlessly down the hallway, unsure if she was actually going the right direction.

"BELLAAAAA!" A thunderous voice called down the hallway and within seconds an arm wrapped around her shoulders. The hair on her neck stood on end and on reflex she gripped the wrist and twisted.

"Ow, hell! Bella it's me!" The pained voice of Mike Newton, a blond jock she'd met in Government, reached her ears and she released him.

"Fuck, Mike!" Bella put her hands up in a 'my bad' kind of gesture, but snorted in amusement "Don't sneak up on people, you never know who could kick your sorry ass."

Behind them, Eric and Tyler Crowley (whom she also met in Government) were practically splitting their sides laughing so hard. Next to him was Jessica Stanley, a plain girl with mouse-brown hair who looked much less entertained. She grabbed Mike's hand, fussing incessantly over a non-existent injury and acting as if Bella had just kicked her puppy. She wasn't the biggest fan of Jessica, but she had become somewhat fond of Tyler, Eric and Mike, and she went wherever Mike went. Jessica opened her mouth, probably to launch in to some lecture about not hurting her puppy, but was cut off when the three boys started getting rowdy. She realized she'd been heading the exact opposite direction the first time. Mike practically kicked open the double doors of the Cafeteria, and Bella rolled her eyes so hard she thought they might roll right out of her head and across the tile. Were all boys this rambunctious? She reckoned they were.

* * *

 **Okay, finding a cut off for this was hard. I've actually written like two chapters worth of stuff, but decided I needed to find a stopping point. I'm still struggling with a few things, I feel like I'm overthinking some of this and adding too much detail? But at the same time I personally enjoy the more detailed fics and its my fic so whatever, ya know? I hate it when when its just Bella and the Cullens and essentially no one else exists outside their little bubble**


	4. Chapter 4: Eyes Like Yours

**Enter, Alice Cullen!**

* * *

The somewhat crowded cafeteria was bustling with life, the hum of idle chatter permeating the air. After somehow making it through the lunch line without being too jostled by eager students, Mike abruptly dragged Bella with him to sit at a large round table a little too near the center of the room for her liking. Within moments they were joined by Eric, Jessica, Tyler, and a couple of girls whose names she still had yet to commit to memory. Honestly, there wasn't enough space for all six of them to sit there without bumping elbows, but these kids seemed hell bent on making it work. Bella had the misfortune of sitting next to some blonde girl with a high pitched, nasally voice who only seemed interested in discussing the latest gossip and talking trash about whomever she pleased. It was slowly grating on her nerves and she felt the impending migraine tickling the base of her skull.

The steady thrum of voices gradually began to fade as she stared absently at a spot on the far wall, allowing herself to drift in her thoughts. She wondered what the future held for her at her new school, after all, the concept of having an actual group of people willing to befriend her was something of a new experience. She figured either they were big enough freaks to be okay with her, or she'd levelled up her social skills enough to fake it. At her last school, she had a nasty habit of speaking before she could actually complete a thought, and the results were usually less than satisfactory. She didn't always come off as the kindest of people. Occasionally it happened with teachers, but most often it would be with other students, who would then end up avoiding her or trying to fight. It wasn't Bella's fault she couldn't hold her tongue, it was just something that ran in her family.

 _No one runs in my family_. She snorted at her own joke.

It was that moment that she realized the buzz of conversation amongst her friends had died down to hushed whispers and hurried glances. Bella looked at each one curiously and scrunched her nose in confusion before turning her attention to the person on her right. She was a darker skinned girl with long, black hair pulled in to a ponytail, and a pair of thick round glasses adorning her face. Bella momentarily struggled to recall her name. _Angela_. She said to herself, proud of her accomplishment. Names were not her strong suit.

"Angela." The girl flinched, taken aback by the sudden call from the girl who'd barely spoken so much as a hello. None the less, she smiled, satisfied to be acknowledged.

"Bella! What is it?" She put her elbows on the table and propped her chin on both hands.

"What is everyone whispering about?"

"Oh! Right, you're new here so you wouldn't know," Angela gestured with a tilt of her head to the other side of the cafeteria. "They're talking about the Cullen family."

Her brows knit together and she swiveled slightly in her chair to look over her shoulder at the aforementioned students. Chocolate eyes widened as she took in the indescribably beautiful group of people. Their backs were mostly turned to her, but even without seeing their faces she could tell they were on a level all their own; each one moving with fluidity and grace, barely picking at their obviously untouched food. There was a total of five, each one possessing their own unique set of qualities. First was the largest of them; a boy who looked much too old to be in high school with bulging muscles that could rival Jakes. Next to him was a blonde with a body that could kill, and a face that looked like she had. Her features were sharp, and she appeared carefully poised, her movements limited except the interlocking of her fingers with the large ape-mans.

Beside them were two other boys, the first one was exceptionally well-dressed compared to his peers, and possessed messy bronze hair that reminded Bella of what an aggressively used toothbrush might look like. The one to his right had sandy blonde tresses with subtle waves that halted just below his earlobes. He had one arm hooked around Toothbrushes and his free hand was rubbing his shoulder gently in what she assumed was a comforting gesture.

Finally, her eyes flicked to the final Cullen, and her breath left her body with an audible _whoosh_. She was petite, unlike her brothers and sister, with short, dark hair that spiked out slightly at the ends and back, and a small waist that she felt the urge to wrap her arms around. Bella decided, without even seeing her face, she wanted to know that girl. Angela began to introduce them, and Bella noticed the whole table had gone quiet and was tuning in on the conversation.

"They were all adopted by Carlisle and his wife Esme, the only ones who are related are Rosalie and Jasper, and they're the two blonde ones. The big one who looks like a man-bear is Emmett, he's dating Rosalie, then there's Edward, the one with bronze sex hair, and he's dating Jasper." Angela sighed, her eyes roaming dreamily over Edwards form. "If only they weren't gay, Edward probably has more girls fawning over him than anyone I've ever seen."

"Whatever dude," Mike scoffed "I've got girls after me too, but you don't see me acting high and mighty and better than everyone like them. Besides, isn't it like incest if they're together?"

Bella turned to face Mike with a bemused expression, "Please, the only girl I've seen fall for you was Angela, and that's only because she tripped over your foot on the way here. Besides, who cares if they're together? Technically they aren't related by blood, so what does it matter?"

Mike's face flushed a deep red while Tyler and Eric erupted with laughter, slapping him none to gently on the back. Angela was stifling her own laughter behind one hand, and Bella decided she didn't want to see Jessica's reaction; she could already feel the piercing glare coming from her without having to make eye contact.

"So what about Emmett and Jasper? I'm sure they attract just as much attention." She inquired, turning back to Angela.

"I mean, yes, but no one would dare try," She shook her head, "No one really goes near Emmett or Jasper. Rosalie is the ultimate ice queen, people won't get within ten feet of her, much less her man. If looks could kill, Rosalie would probably be incarcerated for life. As for Jasper…he's good looking, but a bit intimidating if I'm honest. He always looks like he's in pain, and I haven't heard him say a word to anyone outside his family since they moved here."

"Wait, you only introduced four out of five." Bella pointed out.

"Oh, right! The last one is Alice, she's super polite, in my opinion probably the most approachable of all of them, but she also seems a little off sometimes?" Angela tapped a finger on her chin.

"Alice." Bella said out loud, to no one in particular, enjoying the way the girls name rolled off her tongue.

"Sometimes? The little thing is a freak," The blonde to her left finally cut in, her words dripping poison, "I have her in one of my classes, I've seen her just freeze up and stare off in to space for a solid five minutes and no one can get her attention when it happens."

Bella had been thinking to herself quietly, deciding that she was going to talk to Alice Cullen if it killed her. When Lauren called her a freak, she bristled defensively and prepared a nasty retort before she was cut short by Mike.

Mike shoved Laurens chair slightly with his foot, fixing her with an exasperated expression. "Don't be such a bitch, Lauren, Alice is a sweet girl, and even if her and her family are a little weird you still shouldn't call her a freak."

Lauren scoffed and rolled her eyes dramatically, sitting back in her chair with her arms crossed, not unlike a petulant child. Bella gave a small smile, her respect for the normally thick-headed jock going up just a few notches. She could understand to some degree why the Cullens drew so much attention to themselves. Just from observing them, Bella could tell that something was strange. First of all, their mouths were moving, but it didn't seem like they were talking, then there was the fact that not a single piece of food had been touched beyond the occasional poke of a fork. Regardless, she didn't see a point in putting so much time and effort in to idle gossip.

She was also positive they had to have heard it before, there's no way you can attend a school for four years and _not_ hear what people were saying at least a few times. Bella shook her head, she knew all too well how it felt to have that many people talking about you when they thought you weren't listening. Deciding to ignore the bickering that had followed Lauren's unnecessary comment, she looked over her shoulder, hoping to see the little one called Alice again, only to suck in a mouthful of oxygen when she met a pair of honey-colored eyes. Alice Cullen was staring back at her.

Before she could react or fully comprehend what was happening, everything seemed to slow down significantly. Her eyes were almost exactly like the ones she had seen that night in Phoenix, albeit a few shades darker. _Those damned yellow eyes._ Bella could feel her chest tightening, her skin broke out in a cold sweat and her breath came in short puffs. Her vision began to blur at the edges, and she could see flashes of snapping jaws and blood covered canine teeth inches from her face. Somewhere in the background she heard Angela's voice, but it was drowned out by the screaming that echoed in her mind. A gentle hand was placed on her shoulder and Bella recoiled violently, causing her chair to screech across the tile floor. She met Angela's dark green eyes, which were swirling with a mixture of concern and shock. Bella could see her lips moving but couldn't make out the words through the roaring in her ears. It was then that she noticed the whole table staring at her.

"I'm sorry, I need to go. I don't feel well." Bella managed to mumble out, snatching her backpack from the chair and briskly walking to the doors that led outside.

A gust of chilled wind hit her face when she stepped outside, and she willed herself to keep walking, making a beeline for the trees just on the edge of the school grounds. In hindsight, that probably wasn't the best direction to go, but she knew she couldn't stay in that room and nature was generally comforting for her. She briefly considered calling Jake to pick her up but she didn't want him to know about it. In fact, she didn't want anyone to know about this, it was bad enough that her new school friends bore witness to it. Bella stopped once she was surrounded by nothing but pine trees, sinking to the forest floor and pulling her knees to her chest. She placed her head between her legs and began counting in an attempt to regulate her breathing and calm herself down. It worked, for the most part, until she heard the clearing of a throat. She threw her head back at the offending sound and was met once again with the golden gaze of one Alice Cullen.

* * *

Alice and her family had been talking silently amongst themselves, their words too low in volume and too quick for average human ears to pick up on. It wasn't until she caught the sound of someone describing them that she chose to tune in. They didn't have to look to know that it was the new student they had all heard about it, and it seemed her new friends were taking it upon themselves to introduce her family without actually introducing them. She smiled faintly at the joke following the comment about girls fawning over her brothers and decided she wanted to see this girl for herself. Alice had already had a few visions about her, but she was nothing more than a fleeting shadow in all of them, only appearing when she was in someone _else's_ future.

Curiosity getting the best of her, Alice craned her neck just a bit, trying to peer around Edwards shoulder. With her playing a vanishing act in Alice's visions, her family insisted on finding out why and establishing whether or not she a potential threat, or just a very special human. Although understandable (seeing as only other super naturals were hidden from her talents) she couldn't help but think they were being a little melodramatic. She could only see her from behind, but without a doubt this was the girl her family had worried over, which was remarkable in itself because she appeared to be nothing more than an average human. _Average_. Alice tried to convince herself, ignoring the pull she felt to go to her and strike up conversation. It would happen in time, but that time wasn't now.

"I can't read her thoughts." Edward's cheery voice piped up from his spot beside Jasper, causing four pairs of golden eyes to fall on him.

"Wait," Rosalie's eyes narrowed to slits, "So Alice can't see her in visions, and you can't hear her thoughts? What's next, Jasper not being able to feel her?" Her gaze snapped to her "twin", who held up his hands in innocence.

"Don't look at me like that Rosalie, I can feel her emotions just fine, maybe because it's physical? They don't change as quickly or as much as other teenagers though, so I don't know how much of a difference it's going to make trying to get a read on her. She seems well controlled for her age." He said in his southern drawl, shrugging.

"Eddy boy can't get in her head, and to Alice she's unpredictable? Oh, I like her already, and I haven't even met her yet!" Emmett clapped his hands together.

"Stop it Emmett, we don't even know if she's human! The only things that can pull that off are those _mutts_. I can smell her from here, she's got wet dog scent all over her!" Rosalie hissed quietly.

"Ah, no, she's definitely human. Through the shifter scent, she smells human, most certainly has blood in her veins, and there's nothing about her physical appearance that stands out like ours. Even the wolves are obviously different from normal humans, and to make my point, I can read _their_ minds." Edward tapped on the table thoughtfully.

Alice sighed to herself, for reasons beyond her comprehension, she felt like Bella had her own gravitational pull, and she was feeling it's affects. It would be a lie to say she didn't find her attractive. She'd only seen her face with a quick glance when they filed in to the cafeteria, but Alice thought she was the most beautiful girl she had ever laid eyes on. Honestly, she wasn't out of the ordinary, but everything about her was captivating; her long, chestnut brown hair that framed her heart shaped face with gentle waves, her pale skin, her full, pink-tinted lips, the slim jawline connected to a slender neck…Alice shook her head almost violently and noticed Jasper and Edward eyeing her suspiciously. Well, shit. Caught with a hand in the cookie jar.

"Alice," Jasper's eyes twinkled with laughter, "You like her, don't you?"

If she could blush, Alice was sure that she would be pink from her neck up at that point. It wasn't just a blatant attraction; she had seen the shadow of this girl in all of their futures, especially her own. She knew from the first time she had a vision involving her that they were going to become exceptionally close. Rosalie glared daggers in her direction while Emmett bounced slightly in his seat like a small child. Edward was giving her the same amused expression that Jasper was.

"She most certainly does, if those thoughts were anything to go by." Edward snorted.

"Don't tease me, you mop with legs." Alice sneered

"You wound me, dear sister, I just call them as I see them!" He held up his hands in mock innocence, much like his partner had done with Rosalie earlier.

"You know…" Jasper trailed off, glancing quickly at the table across the room, "She likes you too. Whether or not she understands it, I couldn't say, but I can feel her from here. She's curious, but nervous, and when she looked at you her heartbeat sped up."

The corners of her mouth turned down in a thoughtful frown. How could she possibly introduce herself without coming off too strange or eager? It was dangerous enough to be friends with a human, but Alice knew that if she had it her way, they wouldn't be just friends, which complicated things more. Not to mention the resistance Rosalie would most definitely give her. Although, Emmett was excited at the prospect of making a new friend, and Edward and Jasper didn't appear to care either way, as long as she was happy. Then of course there was Carlisle and Esme to deal with. They probably wouldn't mind, but would urge her to be careful.

Alice exhaled through her nose and looked across the room at the brunette, starting when her eyes met a pair of chocolate brown. At first, the world felt like it was falling away and her entire being seemed to tilt on its axis. Alice felt like she was drowning in the depths of her dark brown eyes, but even that couldn't hide the drastic shift in Bella's demeanor.

"Jasper, what's wrong?" Edwards' anxious tone cut through her thoughts and she turned to look at them. Jasper had stiffened and was gripping the table. Hard.

"She's having a panic attack. She looked at you and it must have done something because…" He trailed off when there was a surprised yelp from Angela and a loud screech of metal dragging on tile, followed by Bella Swan breezing past them and out the double doors.

Alice stared at the exit in bewilderment, unsure of what had just happened. A dozen thoughts began racing through her head. What the hell was that? Was she just prone to panic attacks? She hadn't been bothered when she had kept stealing glances at them, so what changed when they looked at each other? Was it her fault? Should she go after her? How weird would it be if she _did_ go after her? Did she somehow know what they were? Is that why she freaked out so bad? She had never seen any human panic that much with something so little as eye contact.

"Alice, I need you to calm down, your thoughts are too loud." Edward grimaced.

"Somethings wrong," Rosalie growled, "That was too abnormal of a response just from looking at _Alice_ of all people. Carlisle told us to assess a potential threat, if she knows something it could be a fucking problem!"

"Calm down Rosie, getting angry isn't going to help right now." Emmett put a massive hand on her shoulder.

Alice flinched when all four of her siblings suddenly looked at her.

"Go find her." Rosalie ground out.

"Excuse me?!" Alice stared at her like she had just sprouted a second head.

"Something is off, Alice. Jasper said there was a lot of fear coming from her when she left. If she knows something, then we need to know, worst case scenario she just had a normal panic attack over something unrelated and it'll give you a chance to comfort her." Edward winked. Alice fixed him with a blank look. She couldn't find a good enough argument to counter that. On one hand, they could find out what she knows, on another hand she has her opening to talk to the girl who's caught her attention since before she arrived at Forks High.

"Fine."

Alice slid gracefully out of her chair, leaving her untouched lunch and her siblings to continue their hushed discussion. She strode out the double doors, pausing briefly to look around for passerby's, then tilted her head back ever so slightly to sniff the air. The wind carried the strong scent of lavender and honey, and she smiled softly before shaking her head and following the trail to the dense forest that lay behind the high school. _She couldn't possibly have gone far._ Alice thought to herself, absently stepping over braches and other obstacles without sparing a glance at her feet.

* * *

It was the sound of labored breathing that caused her to eventually halt in her tracks, and there, not ten feet away, sat the person of interest, her back pressed against a pine tree and her knees pulled flush against her body. She had her head tucked between her legs and Alice could hear her faintly mumbling numbers to herself. Unsure of how to proceed, she cleared her throat gently, causing Bella's head jerked up so quickly she was sure the girl was going to give herself whiplash.

"Alice Cullen." Her voice was hard, but quivered slightly, "What are you doing out here? Did you follow me?"

"I was hoping to formally introduce myself, but it seems your friends did the honors. I did follow you, though. My siblings and I saw what happened in the cafeteria, and none of your friends seemed eager to make sure you were okay, so I decided I wanted to check on you. It's not easy being the new kid, we've been there before. You looked white as a sheet, I honestly thought you were going to be sick." Alice took one step forward, her eyes widening when Bella pressed her back further against the tree and threw her hands up.

"Stop! Don't come closer, please." Bella choked out.

Bella had managed to reign in the panic attack, but she still couldn't shake the fear. She was ashamed of it, if she was honest with herself. She took pride in having better control over her emotions, and the fact that something like that blindsided her was definitely not something to be proud of. The entire trek to the forest her mind raced with curiosity, fear and confusion about how there was no way the Cullen's could be human; not with eyes like those. She shook her head to clear those thoughts, rolling her eyes at how ridiculous she sounded.

First of all, there was no proof that their eye color was especially abnormal, just because she had never seen it before didn't negate its existence. At the same time, however, there wasn't a single study she'd come across in any biology class, textbook, or online article that talked about yellow eyes unless it was colored contacts, and the odds that every Cullen kid wore yellow contacts also seemed a bit farfetched. She also couldn't just say ' _Hey, I think you aren't human_ ' because that just made her sound off her rocker. Bella stared at Alice curiously when the small girl suddenly sat down in the same place she'd been standing, crossing her legs and watching Bella intently.

"Okay, I'll stay right here." Alice smiled softly, hoping to calm her a bit, "Can I ask you something?"

She nodded cautiously.

"What happened in there?"

"Nothing, I just remembered something and it freaked me out a bit." Bella skirted around the actual reason.

"May I ask what had you so on edge?" Alice tried to gently encourage her to open up, to little avail.

"No." Came the curt reply.

"Why?"

"Because if I tell you, I'm going to sound crazy, and I've had enough of people thinking that about me." Bella stated quietly, casting her gaze downward. She whipped her head back up again when light, tinkling laughter bubbled from the other girl.

"Isabella-"

"Bella."

"Right, Bella. I'm sure you've heard what they say about us, yeah? It's alright, I promise not to make fun of you or make you feel crazy. So please, trust me just a little, if only this once." Alice needed to know what she thought, not just to satisfy her own curiosity, but for the safety of her family.

Bella couldn't entirely argue with that. Alice was right, her new "friends" had made their fair share of comments on the Cullen family, and she had openly defended them. Opening up about the real reason she panicked was not something she was entirely prepared to do though. Not a single soul in Phoenix believed her when she tried to tell them about what actually happened that night with her mother, but she had a feeling that Alice of all people would understand how it felt to be patronized and treated differently. She once again stared at her shoes, chewing gently on her bottom lip and mulling it over in her head. Her friends already thought something was strange about her, what with that display she'd just put on, and Alice didn't seem like the type to gossip. Hell, from what she had been told, it didn't seem like anyone in her family even _spoke_ to the other students unless they had to. In the end, Bella decided that she was more terrified of being right, than being wrong.

She fixed her gaze back on Alice, studying her before deciding to open her big mouth. Something definitely seemed different about her, she was sitting like a statue on the forest floor with absolutely no movement, not even a subtle rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. Her skin looked flawless, like smooth marble, and her movements earlier had been a little too graceful and fluid. Bella then realized she hadn't heard Alice approach when she first arrived, and a simple glance at the forest floor around them told her there was no way she could've avoided making some sort of noise.

"You know, it's kind of stupid. I saw your eyes, and thought _'are they even human?'_ but that's pretty ridiculous." Bella chuckled at her own idiocy. Alice looked a little taken aback, but her features quickly softened again and she gave Bella another soft smile.

"It's understandable, you aren't the first to wonder about that either. Though, how did you come to a conclusion like that?" Alice inquired her eyes never leaving the other girls.

Bella shifted uncomfortably, "It's just…"

"It's okay, you can tell me." The pixie pressed

"Your eyes. They're gold, which shouldn't be possible unless your family has a weird cultish belief in colored contacts," Bella frowned, reconsidering whether or not she should tell her _why_ her eyes were unnatural to her, before throwing caution to the wind. "I've only seen eyes like yours one other time."

That certainly seemed to get Alice's attention. Bella couldn't decipher the look that crossed the other girls face at that admission.

"What?" Alice stared at her intently, but maintained a light tone. "What do you mean? You've seen them before?"

Bella narrowed her eyes suspiciously. The pixie still held the same smile, but there was something behind her eyes and the barely noticeable strain in her words. She sighed, she didn't much want to talk about it, but she needed someone to know the truth, stranger or not. Although, she felt she could hardly consider Alice a total stranger by this point. An acquaintance at least.

"You know…" She started, fiddling with the hem of her shirt nervously, "I'm tired, Alice….I want to tell you, I need someone other than me to know, but we just met. I'm ashamed that you saw me in this predicament and I wholly feel that I'm being overdramatic about all of this."

"Bella, I swear to you that whatever we talk about right here, right now, will never leave this spot. They say there's comfort in strangers, you know?" Alice replied, waiting to see if she would open up.

That was the last bit of push she needed. Bella launched in to her story, careful to avoid certain….specific details. She didn't notice that Alice had gradually shifted closer until she was side by side with her, but when she did she couldn't bring herself to send her away. After all, she was just trying to be friendly, right? At first it was easy, telling her about how she had chased Mayor in to the desert when he uncharacteristically ran off, but when it came time to describe the creature itself, she couldn't bring herself to conjure up the image. It wasn't until an ice cold hand brushed her knuckles that she realized she was clenching so hard her nails had bit in to her palm. She allowed Alice to wrap a comforting arm around her shoulders. It wasn't until near the end, when she was describing what happened to her mother, and revisiting how no one believed her about what had happened, that Bella noticed a few stray tears roll down her cheeks.

Alice stared at the girl sadly, trying to decide if hugging her was the right course of action. Whatever appeared that night was nothing short of supernatural, and she made a mental note to bring it up with Carlisle. She'd heard legends of creatures like that, but as far as she knew they had long since died out, and even if they did still exist, what are the odds that it would wander in to a crowded suburb and attack a family unprovoked? Something fishy was going on, but she was torn from her contemplation when Bella sniffed, clearly trying to hold in her sorrow. Alice felt her heart break in two and she gathered the girl up in her arms, smiling to herself when Bella returned the gesture with a vice grip. She allowed her to bury her face in her neck and cry as much as she needed to. It didn't last long. After about a minute, Bella forced herself to swallow the lump in her throat and eventually pulled back, still sniffling.

"I-I'm sorry, this is embarrassing," She stuttered, rubbing her eyes with her jacket sleeves, "I hate crying, and I especially hate crying in front of people. I know I sound insane."

Bella's eyes went wide when Alice gripped both of her hands in her own; the action and her ice cold skin caught her off guard but she didn't try to pull away. She wasn't sure if she could if she wanted to, Alice had a surprisingly strong hold. She chewed her lip again, waiting to be fed the same excuses the police gave; that it was just a normal animal attack or that she was suffering from some kind of trauma-induced delusion.

"Isabella," Alice's gold eyes bore in to her own with an intensity she didn't expect, and even though she hated her full name, she couldn't help but think she wanted to hear Alice say it again. "I would think you stranger if you _didn't_ cry, but more importantly, I need you to know that I believe you, every word of it."

Bella deadpanned for a moment, unsure if she trusted her. She searched Alice's face for any sign of give in the sincerity, and when she found none she mentally slapped herself. This stunning, polite, kind, and inhumanly beautiful girl had followed her all the way in to the forest just to make sure she was okay. She had sat with her for nearly the entire lunch period just to listen to her story and hear her out, and had even validated it by explicitly telling her she believed her. Yet Bella had the nerve to allow herself doubt at this point.

Alice held her breath, although it was unnecessary to begin with. Those large, brown eyes held her locked in place, clearly searching while she drowned in their depths. She needed her to trust that she was being honest, that she full-heartedly believed her story and wanted nothing more than to be supportive. At this point, if Bella knew anything about her family, she certainly wasn't admitting to it, but she could reason that the girl didn't know and had just experienced an unfortunate casualty that came with being near supernatural creatures. It wasn't until she felt the brush of a warm breath on her cheek that she realized at she'd leaned in to the human. Alice froze momentarily, then sighed in relief when two arms tangled around her neck.

"Thanks." Bella mumbled in to her shoulder. Emotions weren't her friends, so she tried her best to convey her appreciation. For the first time since she moved to Forks, it felt like some of the world had been chipped away from her shoulders, if only a little bit.

"You're welcome," Alice chuckled, rubbing a hand on her back. Her ears picked up the sound of the final lunch bell, indicating their next period. "If you ever need anything, you can call me, you know? I'll give you my number, but we should get going, sixth period is about to start and I don't think it would bode well to miss any classes on your first day."

Pulling back, Bella stared at her quizzically. She could barely hear the occasional bird cry and scuttling of animals hiding in the underbrush, much less the school bell from more than fifty yards away. Deciding to ignore it for now, she stood up and stretched out one hand to her companion. Alice accepted the assistance and continued to hold on even as they began heading back toward the school, dragging Bella behind her and chatting about which classes and teachers they had to attempt to lighten the mood a bit. Bella stared down at their intertwined hands as Alice led the way and smiled to herself. Maybe this new school wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * *

 **HeyoooO! What a doozy! A solid 5600 words! I started writing this one and couldn't seem to stop, so I just let it go. I rewrote several parts, several times, and reread the whole chapter 2-3 times. I think there are still some little things bothering me, but for the most part I'** **m satisfied, I hope you are too! With any luck, my future chapters will match this one in length. Enjoy!**


	5. Chapter 5: Set On Fire

**Holy crap. Sorry for that wait, guys. I actually started this chapter almost immediately after the last one, but I'm fleshing out this story as I go along so a bunch of things kept changing. Then some life things happened and I wasn't able to work on it for a bit, then I got a little stuck, so instead I started writing out future chapters and events xD I'm also trying to maintain consistent-ish word count to make each chapter as enjoyable as possible. Better late than never I guess! Hope everyone likes it!**

* * *

Deep in the forest of Forks, Washington, a large house stood at the end of a dirt and gravel road that gradually gave way to dark pavement. Surrounding it was a dense wall of trees that acted as a barrier between it and the rest of the world, and it was only accessible via an unmarked entrance along the roadside. The home was grand indeed, with white walls extending up three stories, the first two floors having only window from floor to ceiling on one side. Just to the left of the front entrance was a connected garage, big enough to fit at least five or six vehicles. Around the back, the yard opened up to a large clearing.

Inside, five bodies shuffled about, settling in after another long day at school. They were used to the monotony that came with their immortality, but the day provided significant more excitement than what they're used to and all except Rosalie seemed to enjoy it. After she had walked Bella back to class, Alice decided to ditch her last two periods in favor of sitting in Rose's red convertible and listening to her eclectic playlist. She'd spent the entire time lost in her thoughts, going over the day's events in her mind. At the end of the day, there were two things of which she was certain; one, Bella Swan had been violently and unceremoniously introduced to a world known only in storybooks and legends, and two, she was hopelessly attracted to her.

The Cullen family was sitting in varying places around their open living room. Esme sat in a large armchair near the window, Carlisle opting to stand next to her, leaning slightly on said chair. Edward and Jasper each took up the two spots beside Alice on the couch, while Rosalie and Emmett claimed the loveseat, with Rosalie trying to subtly cuddle in to his side. Earlier in the day Alice had admitted to having visions about a new girl, and the others insisted keeping an eye on her because of her ability to block both Alice _and_ Edwards' gifts. Now they were waiting for their smallest member to explain what happened following the excitement in the lunch room.

"So…she's definitely human." Alice interlocked her fingers over her lap, leaning back in to cushions of their leather couch.

Seven pairs of eyes blinked at her curiously. After several of the visions she'd had about Bella, they were becoming a growing source of concern for her and her family. The issue being that Bella simply didn't exist in them, but at the same time, she did. The only time she could see her was when she was a part of someone else's future, and even with that she was no more than a flitting shadow, voiceless, faceless and soundless in her presence. Their first assumption was that the girl was inhuman, but the only creature who also blacked out Alice's visions were the Quileute wolves. The idea was quickly scrapped because the shifters don't just block out their own futures, but also those of all surrounding bystanders, and she could still see the people who interacted with Bella as long as she knew them.

"How do you _know_ she's human?" Rosalie scoffed.

"Rose, I'm not an idiot, and you certainly aren't either." Alice shot back, "I sat there with her, her warmth, the blood in her veins, her scent; everything _screams_ human. However…."

She trailed off, trying to think of a way to explain everything in as few words as possible. Alice knew she needed to tell them about why Bella suddenly moved to Forks, but some part of her weakly fought against exposing the girls' private problems to her family.

"Alice, how did the talk with her go?" Edward leaned forward in his seat, solidifying the decision for her.

"Well…." Alice worried her bottom lip, "There is a problem, although I don't know how _big_ of a problem it is. We made eye contact and lunch and she panicked and ran out of the room . . ." Carlisle and Esme exchanged troubled glances, "When I found her she yelled at me to stop and tried to move away."

Alice ignored the tightness in her chest at the memory. She was used to humans being afraid of them to some degree, but the look on Bella's face was unmasked horror and it caused her undead heart to give a painful squeeze. It was understandable, especially given the circumstances, but it still stung a bit. When they continued to stare at her as if waiting for some kind of continuation, she remembered that she'd forgotten to tell her siblings the details, opting for alone time in the car followed by heading straight home when the rest of them had joined her in the parking lot.

"She was scared, but I don't think it was entirely because of us. She moved to Forks because an animal attack that resulted in her mothers' death, but . . . it wasn't _just_ an animal," Alice fixed Carlisle with a hard stare, "The way she described it, it was like nothing I've ever heard of. She said our eyes reminded her of that night, apparently whatever it was had yellow eyes. At first, I thought maybe it was another vampire, maybe one like us who'd given up the animal-only diet, but she said it was over six feet tall, and it _roared_ , Carlisle. Almost like a lion, but somehow louder, and more powerful, not anything like what we do."

"What the fuck?" Rosalie blurted out, "You're telling me that there's something out there that's the same size, if not _bigger_ than the wolves, and it miraculously wandered in to Phoenix, Arizona and attacked a family _at random_?"

"Rosalie Hale, language please." Esme admonished, to which she received a strained apology.

"That's exactly what she just said Rose." Edward rolled his eyes

"It was the "too long; didn't read" version." Emmett giggled, grunting when his wife punched him in the arm.

Rosalie narrowed her honey-colored eyes at Edward. Sometimes she just wanted to throw him out the window, but she had a feeling Jasper wouldn't appreciate it very much. Emmett wrapped a heavy arm around the blonde's shoulders, patting her bicep in comfort, but still shaking lightly with laughter.

"That _is_ a problem." Carlisle mumbled to no one in particular.

"What is? The thing that attacked or Bella being vaguely aware of the existence of our world?" Jasper inquired.

"If I'm honest, both are equally as distressing." Carlisle pondered. "The last beings I recall having any power close to matching ours were the Children of the Moon, but the Volturi eradicated all of them before I was turned. I wouldn't be surprised to know that more than us and the wolves existed at one point. If the Volturi hunted them down, it's likely that they would hunt down _anything_ that doesn't fit in to or abide by their laws."

"We could do some research on what it is, but without knowing what it looked like it would be fruitless. Alice, did she tell you anything besides its' size and eye color eye color?" Jasper turned to look at the pixie who was staring absently at the wall.

Alice shook her head. It took a lot of trust and faith to confide something so private to a complete stranger. She was grateful enough that Bella let her in as much as she did, so regardless of the bits of missing information, she refused to push her. It was hard enough to recall something that traumatizing, especially doing so in vivid detail to someone you'd known for less than an hour.

"There's not much we can do then. Until she feels comfortable enough to tell someone the truth, we can only speculate." Carlisle leaned back in his armchair, stroking his smooth chin thoughtfully.

"Eventually I'm going to have to tell her about us. If she doesn't say anything more before that, I'm positive she will after." Alice pointed out.

That roused a cacophony of protests, mostly from Edward and Rosalie. Alice remained quiet while she waited for the noise to die down. She knew whether it was sooner, or later, Bella Swan would come to learn of their true nature. She was dangerously perceptive, and despite her reluctance to talk about her mother's death, she struck Alice as the type who wouldn't back down if she wanted answers badly enough.

"Are you insane?!" Rose hissed, "That's against the law! If the Volturi found out they'd either kill us, or her! Neither of those options are acceptable!"

"Wait a moment," Jasper replied calmly, "She already suspects us to some degree, it's only a matter of time until she picks up more, and-"

"What do you mean she _already_ suspects us?" The blonde narrowed her eyes, whirling on their tiny sister.

Alice's brows shot up and her eyes widened. She forgot Bella's quip about whether or not they were human. She'd brushed it off, hoping that the girl would roll with that idea and convince herself it was a little too ridiculous to be plausible, and that maybe they could go a bit longer without having to tell her. Of course, it _would_ happen, Alice had seen it, she just prayed that they could hold off and ease Bella in to it. However, she knew if Bella were to confront her directly about them being vampires she wouldn't be able to lie to her.

"Well . . ." Alice trailed off. _Damn_. Edward most certainly saw everything for himself, and it was obvious that he would have told Jasper. "She sounded like she was kidding when she said it, which is why I didn't mention it. She said she'd seen our eye color and wondered if we were human, then followed up by telling me how bizarre of an idea it was."

"What!" Rosalie stood abruptly "You didn't think that worth mentioning?!"

"Rose, I've had it with your temper." Alice growled, standing to meet her face to face.

Well, face to chest anyway.

"Now, now, ladies, how about we quit while we're ahead?" Edward wedged himself between them and with a hand on each of their shoulders, gently moved them a few steps apart.

"Just so, Edward, Jasper, could we have a moment alone with Alice? Emmett, maybe you and Rosalie would like to take this opportunity to hunt?" Carlisle phrased them as questions, but all of the young vampires got the hint. With a huff and one final, seething look, Rosalie flitted out the door. Emmett put his hands together in front of his face, apologized, then turned heel and took off after his wife. Esme stood and gave him a quick peck before heading off to her own workroom to allow them time to talk, with Edward and Jasper on her heels. Carlisle smiled lovingly at her then looked back to their smallest "daughter". "Now then, Alice, maybe we can talk calmly about this. I can only assume you plan on telling Bella no matter how much the others protest, correct?"

"I do." She solidified her resolve.

"Do you think it's her?"

The question seemed vague, but Alice understood what he meant. He was asking if Bella was destined to be her mate. Ultimately, it all depended on the little human and the choices she made regarding her own future, but out of the dozens of potential futures she's seen for herself, there was only one where Bella wasn't present, and hell would freeze over before she let that one become reality.

"I'll admit, at first I wasn't sure." The corners of her mouth turned down in a contemplative frown, "I honestly thought she might be a shifter when I met her. Besides her showing up as a black spot, one of the Quileute's, Jacob Black, brought her to school. Then while we spoke I caught a waft of wet dog-" She wrinkled her nose at the memory. "-but I realized it was just her jacket, and I recognized the underlying scent from some of my visions. Not just that, but she's almost as pale as us and she's _human!_ I doubt I could mistake her for a shifter face to face if I wanted to."

Carlisle gave her an affectionate smile. "Then I have a feeling you know what you need to do. We all support you, Alice. Rosalie does too, she may have a brusque way of approaching it, but she's just apprehensive about how it will affect us. I think the others sometimes forget that they were human once too, and that coming in to this life is not without its fair share of hardships and tragedies. It's not going to be easy."

"I know, I've just…I've been waiting almost a hundred years to find her, even if I didn't know it was _her_. While it's not near as long a wait as what you experienced before finding Esme, it gets awfully lonely in a home full of couples."

"You don't have to explain yourself, Alice. If you want her, and she reciprocates, there's no one in this world who can stop you from pursuing her."

"Thank you, Carlisle." Alice threw her arms around her "father". He always knew exactly what to say, and was probably the closest thing to a real parent she'd ever had.

* * *

"Thanks Angela!" Bella said as she shut the door to the silver Toyota Corolla.

Angela waved her arm out the window, calling out a goodbye as she backed out and headed in the direction she came from. Bella was significantly calmer than she had been during most of the school day, and she could only guess it was because of the little pixie girl known as Alice Cullen. The last thing she expected when she left the cafeteria was to be followed. The kids she sat with at lunch may consider her a friend, but she realized that none of them actually _knew_ her, and she almost preferred it that way. Besides, if anyone was going to check up on her, she figured it would be Angela or Mike. She was fairly stunned and perplexed when that ended up not being the case.

Bella scrolled aimlessly through the music in her phone as she strolled up to her front door; the fact that Jacob was gone going completely unnoticed. It wasn't until she popped her headphones out and was greeted by silence that she noticed the absence of his voluminous voice. As if on cue, her phone pinged once and she looked down to Jacobs name on her screen.

 **Jacob** : _Bellsy! Sorry I'm not there, Charlie called me to tell me you would be riding home with a friend and my dad needed some help, so I went home. I'll be there to pick you up in the morning! You can hold on to my jacket for however long you want_.

She smiled fondly at her childhood idiot and began tapping out a reply.

 **Bella** : _Its cool! I've got homework and dinner to take care of, there's no way I could've done that with your obnoxious ass in the way_.

 **Jacob** : _Aww, its good to know you love me so much :P I'll make sure to be in the way extra tomorrow!_

Bella spent the rest of the afternoon taking care of all of the mundane tasks that came with moving to a new house. She unpacked and put away any remaining boxes that had gone untouched. Stepping in to the closet, she took heed of her lack of winter attire and made a mental note to buy some before the temperatures started dropping too drastically. Bella finished out by re-organizing her knick-knacks, which she would probably end up doing two or three more times before settling on a set up she liked. There was one specific box that lay untouched on the center of her bed. It was unlabeled and taped shut with at least two layers of tape, and it was the one thing that Bella wasn't sure she was prepared to open. Instead, she moved it to the top most shelf in her closet, pushing it as far as she could against the back wall.

When she finished, the minutes seemed to tick by slowly and the day remained remarkably uneventful. Her homework was done in no time (their curriculum was about one semester behind her old school) so to keep her mind busy she ended up cleaning almost every nook and cranny of the house. Bella mused at how much the home _looked_ like it belonged to a single guy. Charlie's dirty laundry was sitting right next to his laundry basket instead of in it, the bathroom cabinets and shower were almost barren aside from a comb, a toothbrush and toothpaste, men's three-in-one soap, and shaving equipment. Even the kitchen was almost too depressing for her. It didn't look as though Charlie cooked, because the fridge only carried milk, water, eggs and meats and cheeses for sandwiches, and the freezer was mostly premade dinners.

"Oh thank god!" She exclaimed, finding one tube of frozen ground beef in the back of the freezer. Burgers it was.

"Bella! What smells so good?" Charlie shut the door behind him, delighting in the warm scent of cooked meat invading his nostrils.

"Hey Dad, I made burgers." Bella was already setting out two plates, each holding a burger and a handful of potato chips.

Charlie almost teared up at the sight. It'd been a while since he was able to enjoy a home cooked meal outside of his favorite diner, and to top it off his amazing daughter was the one who made it for him. He felt his heart give a painful tug when he realized Renee would've been the one who taught her how to cook. With a loving smile, he placed all of his equipment on the ground by the doorway and joined her at the dinner table.

"Dad, we need to have a serious talk." Bella stared intently at him from across their rectangular table.

"Mmhh mphh?" He replied wide-eyed through a mouthful of juicy burger, a little unsure about her unexpectedly serious tone.

"Okay, first of all, I don't speak full mouth, second of all, we're eating hamburgers on slices of bread! The kitchen is barren!" She waved her arms animatedly. "How are you even alive? Do you just eat out every day? You need to go grocery shopping, I'm sure you can survive eating at that diner all the time, but I can't, and having a meal at home and saving a little money sometimes definitely won't kill you."

Charlie chewed thoughtfully while she continued on her tangent about his lack of stock.

"Okay." He said after finally swallowing.

"Okay?" She narrowed her eyes, hoping for a more elaborate response.

"I'm not the best cook, you know, but if you want I can give you money to get whatever you think we'll need at the store."

"Absolutely not." She deadpanned. "I don't do crowded stores."

"Bella, if you want food in the kitchen you're going to have to pick out what you want. I don't know the first thing about what you like to eat, and I don't want to buy the wrong things. What if Jacob went with you to keep you company? Or that friend who drove you home?" He said, pointing toward her lazily.

"Angela?" Bella examined her plate, "Well . . . I suppose that would work. Somehow I feel like grocery shopping with Jake would be harder than doing it alone. Stupid man-child."

Charlie guffawed. Bella may have inherited his quiet demeanor, but the sass and sarcasm definitely came from Renee. His heart heavy with sorrow, he lamented the fact that Bella was so incredibly similar to her mother. There was also a small sting of guilt, because he knew this was affecting his daughter far more than it was affecting him. He loved Renee dearly as a person, but the reality was he hadn't spoken to her outside of Bella coming to visit him on holiday and summer breaks. The two of them grew distant over the years, to the point that he could barely call them acquaintances.

Being the closest person to her mother meant that it was harder on her than anyone else, though she didn't seem ready to admit it yet. She was already having nightmares too. Charlie had heard her tossing and turning in bed the previous night. He'd ignored it at first, thinking she was a rowdy sleeper. That is, until a sharp cry had pierced the air and he raced upstairs to investigate. The time would come when the tower of emotions would crumble, and he only hoped he would be able to be there when she needed him.

The rest of dinner passed rather peacefully, with the two of them making idle conversation as best they could. They talked about how her first day at school went, to which Bella left out some of the more . . . interesting details, and she in turn asked how work had gone. Before long they were finishing up and depositing their dishes in to the sink. Bella grabbed a sponge to begin scrubbing plates, but flinched and dropped it when a large hand was placed on her forearm.

"You cooked dinner, I'll take care of the dishes. Besides, it's getting late, you should probably get ready for bed and make sure you have everything for school tomorrow." Charlie gently scooted sideways until she was effectively moved away from the sink.

It warmed her heart to see how hard he was trying to be a good father, albeit awkwardly. It was obvious that he wasn't used to having another person in the home, and he sounded unsure of himself while trying to make parental decisions. Regardless, Bella appreciated it more than she could fully express. She wrapped her arms around him from behind in an uncharacteristic squeeze before muttering a low 'thank you' and retreating up to the bathroom. She sighed as she began her nightly routine; shower, brush the hair, brush the teeth, make sure the school bag is packed, lay out clothes for the morning. She drew everything out as long as she could, knowing that bed meant sleeping, and sleeping meant more nightmares.

The pillow top mattress made a soft _fwump_ when her body connected with it, an audible groan of contentment escaping her throat. She shuffled around for a couple of minutes beneath the thick comforter until she found an adequate position, and lay silently staring up at her ceiling. Despite her emotional exhaustion, her body was still buzzing with leftover energy from the day, and she released a frustrated snort. No matter how many times she diverted, her thoughts inevitably drifted back to Alice every time. Extraordinarily kind, and gentle, she felt she would do anything that pixie asked of her, despite barely knowing her for twenty-four hours.

Alice was an impossible existence on all fronts. Her physical grace, arctic temperatures and yellow irises were way too obvious differences, and Bella couldn't understand why no other students were paying these details any mind. She should be terrified, if she was honest with herself. First, she encounters some monstrous demon in the dessert of Arizona, and now, on the complete opposite side of the country, she was face to face with another unnatural existence. Yet, Bella couldn't bring herself to be afraid of Alice. Admittedly, she did panic when they first saw each other, but that's because she initially thought she had the same color eyes as the monster; it had caused some less than welcome flashbacks. The more she looked, however, the more she realized that they were a dark, and soft honey yellow as opposed to the vibrant, glowing yellow from that night.

As she ran through dozens of ideas about what she could be, Bella could feel them gradually slowing down, the exertion of the day finally catching up with her body. She felt herself sink in to the soft cushion of her mattress as sleep inevitably reached out to claim her, the last image in her mind being of alluring, honey-colored eyes.

* * *

 _The air was frosty and crisp. Goose bumps began to raise along her exposed arms and legs. She twitched her fingers experimentally, feeling the hard ground below her. Bellas eyes flitted back and forth beneath her eyelids while she attempted to determine what was happening. She didn't remember waking up, or laying on the floor, and why was her room so cold? This…was her room, right? Logic dictates that to be an acceptable answer, but something felt wrong. It was quiet. Too quiet. There was no sound of the wind moving through the leaves, no sound of Charlie's snoring from across the hall, it was dead silent. Well, except for her staggering breaths and thundering heartbeat._

 _Suddenly, the low sound of heavy footsteps echoed around her from all directions. They were slow, deliberate, and sure; they had a target. Bella felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up as the steps grew in volume. Her heart began beating erratically and she struggled to regulate her breathing._

 _Scratch, scratch, scratch._

 _Her eyes flew open and she bolted upright, panic beginning to consume her. All around her was nothing but darkness, except for the almost imperceptible outline of the window. Something was coming, it was climbing its way up the walls of her home, its nails scraping harshly against the old wood. Bella turned her head to the outline, and all attempts to remain calm dissipated when her eyes connected with a pair of vibrant, sun-yellow eyes with narrowed pupils. Her breath quickened. She began hyperventilating and a blood curdling screech erupted from somewhere in the room. She was not surprised to find it was coming from her._

 _It was there, hanging off her window sill and staring at her._

 _In the midst of her frantic scrambling to get away from the outer wall, it slowly crawled in, somehow fitting it's massive, grotesque body through the small opening. Saliva dripped hungrily from its tongue and lips as it lifted one, lion-like paw toward her, snarling as it bared its claws. Bella continued screaming, desperately hoping to wake herself up, or scare the creature off, or do_ something _. Its teeth inches from her face, the creature froze in its tracks, its nostrils flaring. She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting to feel it tear in to her throat._

 _In the face of potential death, Bella made one, last ditch attempt to protect herself. As the fangs brushed against her skin, adrenaline surged through her veins and she placed one hand on either side of its mouth. Her palms suddenly felt as if she'd placed them on a hot stove top and the spot where her hands were on its face began to emit a fiery glow. She could clearly see the flesh of its maw smolder and disintegrate under her touch, and the last thing Bella heard was a guttural, gurgling howl of pain and rage before everything disappeared._

* * *

Bella awoke with a start, throwing her arms in all directions as if expecting to come in contact with the being that haunted her nightmares. Her eyes flew open and she jerked upright in bed, whipping her gaze back and forth through the room, searching. Nothing was there. Bella's room was as devoid of life (save for herself) as it was before she'd gone to bed. Her chest was still heaving with every breath as she threw her legs over the side of the bed, gripping the night shirt over her heart tightly. It was just a nightmare, just a bad dream, it wasn't real and everything was okay; or so she tried to convince herself.

Bella felt a lump form in her throat. Everything was okay, except for the gentle breeze wafting from the direction of her window. She turned slowly, unprepared for the discovery that awaited, and when her eyes fell upon the damaged window sill she couldn't stop the scream that erupted from her throat. There were deep, gouging claw marks in the wood of her window sill, and the sides were bowing slightly outward from where something had tried to force its way in.

Without a second glance, she threw her blanket off and nearly fell in a panicked attempt to get out of the room. Bella made her way across the hall and pounded her fists on Charlie's door, praying that he would wake up. She received no answer, and the worst thoughts began to run through her head. When she opened the door to see his empty bed, Bella fell to her knees and began to sob, assuming the absolute worst; that the beast had given up on her and gone after Charlie instead. Several minutes passed before she was able to halt the tears. She rubbed her eyes roughly with the palms of her hands and cried out at the sharp pain. Looking down, she realized that they were red and blistered in a couple of places. As if she had touched a hot surface. Of course, everything else was real, so why wouldn't that have been?

Remarkably, that was the least of her concerns and she pushed it to the back of her mind. Her breath was still stuttering as she took in the scene before her. Nothing seemed out of place. His window was shut, his bed was made, and it occurred to her that all of his work gear was missing from its usual hook on his closet door.

"What a baby…" Bella muttered to herself, "He must've been called to work."

Her skin was still crawling with the notion that whatever it was had tried to come after her, but at the very least her dad was safe, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Bella glanced at the clock on his night stand. Two in the morning. There was no way she was going back to sleep after what happened, and it seemed pointless to try when her alarm would go off in a few hours anyway. Instead, she forced her wobbly legs to support her and headed to the bathroom to apply burn ointment and gauze to her damaged palms, then made her way cautiously downstairs, brandishing the shotgun her dad kept hidden for emergencies. She turned on every light in the house that she could, startling at each corner as if expecting something to jump out at her.

Bella chose to spend the rest of the night on the couch wrapped securely in the comforter from her dad's bed and watching television. The shotgun was laid securely next to her and she silently thanked Charlie for having taught her how to use one during her summer visits. She huffed in frustration, both dreading and looking forward to attending school in just a few hours. On one hand, she would be surrounded by other students in broad daylight where nothing could get to her, and there was also Alice. If anyone would be able to distract her from her fears, it would be Alice. On the other hand, however, she didn't actually manage to fall asleep until almost midnight, and she barely slept the previous night too.

Either way, it was going to be a long, exhausting day.

* * *

 **There it is! I made it all the way to the end of the dream part when I got stuck. I originally had specific plans for this chapter, but I couldn't figure out how to flesh them out in a way that satisfied me. After hunkering down and sitting at my laptop for nearly three hours typing, retyping, reading and rereading this whole thing, I finally finished it TT_TT don't worry guys, I fleshed out the main points of chapter six before I even completed this one, so hopefully it won't take me nearly as long! Thanks for reading and your continued support!**

 **Note: For those of you who read the first post of this chapter, it occurred to me that I basically had Bella unpack twice, once in the second chapter, and again this chapter xD I realize now that I have to re-read my own story to avoid these mistakes, but it's since been fixed**


	6. Chapter 6: Can't Fool Me

**Surprise! A new update that didn't take me three months to write! Actually, I'm on a new medication that counters my severe ADHD, so right after I posted the last chapter I was so focused on the story that I spent the entire afternoon writing this one. I almost posted it right away, but decided to wait a few days so I could double check my work. Good thing too, because a bunch of things changed from the first draft, which was suuuuuper dramatic**

* * *

Jacob sang quietly to himself, bobbing his head to the music drifting through his headphones as he pulled his bike in the driveway of the Swan home. His hopes were high that he would be able to pick Bella up from school himself. He was happy she was making friends, but the Cullens being in close proximity to her put him on edge. "Vegetarian" or not, they were his natural enemy and he didn't trust them. Jacob cut the engine and paused when a foreign scent invaded his nostrils. The hairs on his arm stood on end and he strode around to the back side of the house where it was most potent, anticipating a fight. His fury was replaced by perplexity when nothing greeted him. There was definitely a powerful presence, but the yard was as empty and as kept as it usually was. Jacob caught the sound of a door opening and cast one last glance around before jogging back to the front porch.

Bella was there waiting for him in the doorway, looking dead on her feet. Her hair was thrown up in to a messy bun, and she was wearing a pair of black leggings, a salmon pullover hoodie, a pair of fingerless, black gloves, and her usual black, red and white sneakers. While a little relaxed compared to her usual wardrobe choice, Bella always favored comfort above all else. The abnormal bit was the blatant attempt to use make-up to hide the aggressive dark circles under her eyes.

"Wow, you look like hell!" The words tumbled out before he could stop them.

"Gee, thanks." Her reply oozed sarcasm. She tried to slam the door in his face and made a disgruntled noise when his foot blocked the way.

"Come on, you don't look bad, Bella, you could never look bad, you just seem less…energetic?" Jacob finished in a question, unsure if energetic was the proper word.

"No wonder you don't have a girlfriend Jake, your tact when consorting the ladies is questionable at best." Bella smiled, but it was tense, as if the effort of doing so caused her physical discomfort. "I just haven't been sleeping well."

"Bella, I-"

"Jacob, stop." Bella cut him off mid-sentence, keeping her back turned toward him while she gathered up her school bag. "I'm okay, I promise."

Jacob pursed his lips together. She was lying through her teeth.

"Alright." He relented, interlocking his fingers behind his head and shrugging, "If you say so."

"Thanks, you're the best." Bella smacked him on the shoulder in a gesture of camaraderie as she squeezed past him, momentarily forgetting the burns on her palms. She bit her lip harshly to trap the cry of pain that threatened to spill out as she cradled her hand inside of her hoodie pocket.

The corners of Jacobs' mouth twitched in amusement and he cast a fond look at her attempt to hide her injured hand, assuming the pain was because she'd just slapped a living boulder. He shut the door behind him and locked it with his copy of their key, and another brief argument ensued about the necessity of wearing a helmet, with him coming out victorious. Jacobs' unease during the ride grew with each passing moment. He had to elbow her two separate times to readjust her grip when he felt her head droop against his back and her arms grow slack, and he let the tension in his chest dissipate when they eventually rolled in to a parking space.

"Jesus Christ, Bella, are you trying to give poor little me a heart attack?!" Jacob exclaimed.

"Sorry, Jake." Bella replied in monotone, groaning when the helmet pulled the scrunchie out of her hair and she was forced to try and put it back up. She gave up after a moment and let it fall around her shoulders.

"Eh, it's fine, it's not your fault after all." He frowned at her lack luster tone. Normally she would've come up with some witty remark about calling himself little.

The smooth hum of several noticeably expensive cars had all heads turning, including Jacob and Bellas. The owners of the vehicles began to pile out gracefully and he ground his teeth when the smell of death hit him like a ton of bricks. It took all of his willpower to keep his cool. He glanced back at Bella and scrunched his nose in contempt. It wasn't unusual for humans to be attracted to the blood suckers, but she wasn't just ogling them like the others; she was waving. He once again looked toward the Cullens and his blood boiled when he noticed the smallest one, Alice, waving as well.

"Bella." His voice was tight. He cleared his throat. "Are they your friends?"

Bella raised one eyebrow, the curbed tone not escaping her attention. "I mean, sort of? I had a rough first day and Alice helped me out."

Jacob clenched and unclenched his fists at his side, his ears twitching when a conversation brushed his sensitive hearing.

 _Can you smell it, Edward?_

 _I can. She's hurt._

Jacob tuned them out, took one, deep inhale through his nose, then felt his heart drop in to his stomach. It was the smell of singed flesh, and it was coming directly from Bella. There were several potential reasons for it, and he ran through all possibilities. One, she burned herself cooking, something simple that most humans did, but he knew that she was too careful for that to happen, despite how much she played up her gracelessness; two, she could've done it during biology the day before if they'd used the Bunsen burners, but the wound smelled too fresh to have been that long ago, and it was unlikely they would break them out on the first day. That, together with the lack of sleep and the weird odor in her backyard, confirmed that Bella wasn't telling him something, and he found himself vexed by that notion.

"Jake, you're shaking like a leaf, are you cold? You should've worn a jacket. If the one you loaned me was the only one you own then you should've grabbed it before we left." Bella reprimanded.

Jacob turned his back to the bloodsuckers, forcibly stilling himself. "I was just thinking. You know, the Cullens, they're strange people," that earned a faint growl meant only for his ears, "and I don't want to tell you who you should be friends with, but be cautious around them. I've heard some nasty things, they might be dangerous."

"First of all, I'm friends with _you_ and _you_ keep dragging me around on your two-wheeled death trap," Bella scorned, jabbing a finger at his broad chest, "Second of all, do you know them or are you just basing that off hear-say? If that's what it is, we both know you were raised better than that."

Her scathing response caught him off guard, but he couldn't blame her for defending them; she had no way of knowing about the animosity between the Quileute's and the Cullens. Regardless, he loathed when Bella took that authoritative stance with him and scrambled to cover his tracks. "You're right, I'm just jealous. I don't go to your school, so you might make a bunch of new friends and forget about little ol' me! Just remember, I'm your best friend, and I'll knock someone out for trying to take my place!"

"Whatever, just don't go around saying things like that if you don't have a clue what you're talking about." She scoffed at his absurd behavior and waved a dismissive hand. "Now, get. I need you to finish that truck so I can stop wondering if I'm going to die in a freak motorcycle accident every morning."

Jacob chortled and scooped her up in a bear hug before climbing back on his bike. The engine roared to life (gaining the attention of the crowd, much to her dismay) and he tore out on to the main street. He remained lost in thought most of the way back to Bella's home, thankful that his heightened senses kept him from crashing. Bella was hiding something, although what was unclear. Any explanation she fed him would be a load of bull and they would both know it, but there wasn't a proper way for him to bring it up. He figured he could either confront her about it or leave it alone. Bella would probably blame it on her "natural clumsiness", but if he called her bluff he risked her getting defensive. Neither outcome was ideal, so he chose to let it slide for now, guessing that she'd come to him whenever she was ready.

* * *

Bella let a puff of air out of her nose akin to a soft snort. It was impolite for him to speak so sourly of the Cullens. She hasn't spoken to any of them other than Alice, and even that was less than a couple of hours, but Alice went the extra mile to make sure she was okay, so how bad could they really be? She pondered the reason why everyone seemed to hold the siblings in such contempt. Jake didn't even attend their school and he claimed to have heard unfavorable rumors. Whatever, she was far too drained to be dwelling on it. Besides, it's not like he would see them on a daily basis anyway. Except that he was her ride to and from school until further notice, which meant he would. Great.

"Bella!"

A silvery voice sliced through her thoughts and startled her out of her reverie. Bella spun on her heel and came face to face with the woman that constantly invaded her waking mind. Alice was just as gorgeous as when she first saw her, and her heart stuttered in her chest. She wasn't particularly dressed up, clad only in a simple pair of jeans and a form-hugging zip-up hoodie, but Bella was captivated none-the-less. She let out a gasp when a petite hand waved once in front of her line of sight. She'd been so caught up in staring that she missed that Alice was trying to talk to her.

"What did you say?" Bella desperately tried to hide the flush of embarrassment creeping up her neck, to no avail.

Alice placed a hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh. "I was asking if you were alright, you were staring off in to space." _Actually, you were staring at me._ But she dare not say that aloud.

"Oh. I'm okay, I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night." Bella said plainly, still fed up after Jake's pestering. She rubbed one hand on her forearm and flinched slightly, praying that Alice didn't notice.

No such luck.

"Bella, are you injured?"

Bella wrenched her arm back when frozen finger tips went to grip her wrist where her sweatshirt sleeve had pulled up slightly. Alice jerked her own hand back to her side, donning a look of dejection, and Bella chastised herself for causing those beautifully sculpted features to become downcast. She didn't mean to be so unpleasant about it, but how would she explain why she had second degree burns across her palms? How could she tell her what happened when she wasn't even sure herself?

"No. I told you, I'm okay." She cursed herself for her curst tone and marched toward the school entrance.

"Are you sure though?" Alice easily kept pace with her brisk stride. "You look really tired, did something happen last night?"

Bella was bombarded by memories and images of the nightmare and her night spent curled up on her sofa, and something inside her snapped. She just wanted to be left alone without the insistent interrogation about her current state. Alice's interest in the lunacy that was her life made no sense, and she found annoyance tickling the back of her mind. Truthfully, her ire wasn't meant for the shorter woman, but her nerves were shot and she found herself questioning her motives.

" _I told you, I'm fine_." She lashed out, feeling a fire rousing in her bones.

"I'm sorry if I overstepped." Alice recoiled slightly. "It's just that you looked like you were in pain, and I was worried."

"You were worried?" Bella whirled on her just before entering the building. "Don't, it's none of your business anyway. I'm not a child, I can take care of myself."

Alice planted her feet and squared her shoulders. "I never called you a child, and I apologize if it felt like I was treating you like one. I thought maybe talking it out like yesterday might help."

"So I'm _required_ to tell you everything?" It was unfair. It was irrational. She knew Alice was trying to help, but for some reason she couldn't stop the avalanche and poor Alice was right at the bottom of the mountain.

"No! You're not, I just want to make sure my new friend is doing alright, especially after everything you've been through." Alice threw her hands up in exasperation.

"I don't need your pity!" Bella snarled. "I don't have to tell you anything, and why should I? You've known me for less than twenty four hours, you have no right to dig around in my business."

With that, she stormed off and left Alice in the doorway with her jaw on the floor. What an idiotic thing to do. She hated herself. Her hostility was unjust, but a cynical part of her reared its ugly head and reminded her that Alice wasn't normal, that she knew something more about Bella's situation than she was letting on. What she couldn't fathom was what.

It took a solid twenty minutes, but eventually she managed to calm herself down. Bella felt if one more person asked if she was okay again she was going to blow another gasket. Fortunately, her first period was with Eric, who took little interest in others affairs unless he could make it news worthy. He merely joked about her lack of effort that day, to which she responded with a few jabs of her own. Finally, something relatively normal.

It was short lived, however. Her second period was Government, a class she was looking forward to with the hope that Mike and Tyler's childish antics would distract her from the weight of her stressors, but much to her dismay the only available seat was beside angry-toothbrush Cullen. She scanned the room and pinpointed her two idiots about four seats away and giving her a sheepish look. Something told her they weren't given the opportunity to save her a spot.

"Oh for fuck's sake." Bella grumbled under her breath.

No doubt he knew about her fight with Alice. Not that she could call it a fight, considering it was all one sided on her part. Jacob spoke so lowly of them, yet here she was treating Alice no better than he did. Bella lowered herself tentatively in to the chair, trying to look at anything other than the eyes burning holes in to the side of her skull. She lamented the fact that today was syllabus day, which meant the teacher was paying no mind to the idle chatter across the room. It gave him the perfect chance to strike up a conversation.

"Mind if I ask what happened earlier?" Well, the shortest path between two points is a straight line, and he certainly wasn't taking detours. It was admirable, at least.

"Look, Edward, right? I don't want the first time we speak to be negative, that's just a terrible first impression." Bella sighed, pulling out a pen and paper.

"My first impression of you was yesterday when you made a ruckus in the cafeteria, and my second was your argument this morning. You're two-for-two, so how about we try for a third?" His tone was nonchalant, but she could tell there was something underlying.

"You might as well say what you want then. 'You hurt my sister and I hate you', 'how dare you speak to her like that after she tried to help you', 'you don't deserve to be friends with her'." Bella was rambling at this point and wondered if she was just projecting.

"I wasn't thinking those things at all, it sounds to me like you're projecting." Damn him. "I won't deny that I was a little irked when you yelled at her, but I also can't say I don't understand. We all have bad days. Just know that Alice likes you, Bella, and she just wants to be close to you, so if she seems a little overbearing it's because she cares."

Bella chewed her bottom lip raw. "I know. I'm being ridiculous and overdramatic. I didn't mean to get so angry at her, I was sick of being asked if I was okay. Can I ask you something?"

He nodded.

"Do you ever feel like you're surrounded by secrets, and everyone except for you is in on them?"

Edward rested his chin on his knuckles. Alice was right, she was refreshingly keen compared to her peers, but what set her apart was insistence. When their perception of the world is challenged, most people come up with convenient explanations to keep that perception intact. Something about ignorance being blissful. This girl wasn't going to accept anything less than the truth, and if she didn't find it with them, she would find it elsewhere.

"You're upset because you think Alice is keeping secrets from you."

"It's all of you!" Bella blurted out, slapping a hand over her mouth when a couple of heads turned. "Sorry. I was upset because I don't understand why she's interested in me. I feel like I'm being lied to because intuition says you guys are hiding something, but I have no right to intrude on your business. I mean, I just met Alice, and today is the first time me and you have spoken a single word to each other."

"That makes sense. Relationships are often forged through time and fire, one day certainly isn't enough time to be so attached to someone, let alone expecting them to divulge their life story." Edward nodded, un-phased by her accusation. It wasn't unfounded, after all.

It was common for vampires and their mates to form an instant connection. Alice was conscious of it because of their animalistic instincts, but humans were typically wary of the unknown. It often took years, sometimes a lifetime, for them to find their soulmate, and some never did at all. His kind inadvertently caused an abundance of conflicting emotions because they attracted them so effortlessly, and he presumed the added potency of a mating pull would complicate things. Bella wouldn't be able to comprehend what she was feeling, despite appearing cognizant of its' unconventional nature. He praised the heavens that he and Jasper met after turning.

Edward had an inkling that they were about to be taken on a wild ride because of this human, but in his opinion they could use a little excitement. His siblings (and by siblings he meant Rosalie) were going to be pissed at him for getting involved, but he needed to nudge Bella in the right direction for the sake of his sisters happiness. Also for his own sanity. Her thoughts were already obnoxiously loud, and if he had to hear Alice drone on about her any longer he was going to rip his own arm off. Jasper was all too happy to listen and take it quietly, but she was driving him up the walls.

"Now, can I ask _you_ something?"

Bella narrowed her eyes, but rolled her still gloved hand in a 'go ahead' gesture. She saw his eyes flicker downward and briefly wondered if he could somehow tell, but pushed the paranoia away from the forefront of her thoughts.

"Have you tried asking her?"

The cogs in her head moved slowly, and her mouth opened and closed a couple of times before clenching shut. She pulled away from his scrutinizing orbs and found comfort in the patterns of the floor tiles. It occurred to her that she was throwing allegations of secrecy, but it was her own hesitation to ask Alice anything potentially personal that led to that conclusion in the first place. The image of Alice's stunned expression crossed her mind. Edward fought back a grin when Bella's head thumped on to the desk and she groaned. Bulls-eye.

"So you haven't."

A vigorous head shake.

"Okay!" He clapped his hands together and she turned to him, her cheek still pressed against the wood. "I like you, Bella, you are somehow the sharpest, and simultaneously most absent-minded person I have ever met, although that's not entirely your fault. Not to mention, my sister likes you, so I'm going to help you out."

Her brows furrowed quizzically, waiting for him to elaborate. Edward leaned over until he was just a few inches from her and lowered the volume of his voice.

"This can be our own little secret, okay?" His eyebrows wiggled. "Alice can't lie to you. I mean, at all. You can ask her anything you want, no matter how eccentric or unrealistic your questions are she will tell you the truth."

"Why should I believe you?" Bella said cautiously.

Edward sat back up and shrugged. "Do, or don't, but this benefits me too. I might meet an early demise by telling you this, but she's head over heels for you. Don't ask me why, I don't know, I'm not a mind reader." Oh, the irony.

"How do you know that? Did she say something about me?" Bella failed to hide her eagerness.

"Oh boy, did she ever, my poor ears are permanently damaged." He cupped his hands over his ears dramatically. "Just do us all a favor and _talk_ to her, because if I have to hear 'Bella, this, Bella that' one more time I'm going to throw myself off a cliff. Don't fret over anything you want to say, no matter how ridiculous it might sound. If you prolong it, you risk driving a wedge between you."

"I don't want her to think I'm bonkers, Edward, I just met her!" Bella exclaimed, clenching her fists on her desk.

"Oh ye of little faith. " Edward rolled his eyes. "I can't force you to do anything. You won't take that leap until you're ready, but just know that Alice took her own risks in deciding to get close to you. We don't make friends with the students here, it's just pointless and they don't much like us anyway. I wasn't lying when I said she's head over heels, and you could've easily rejected her solely because of the rumors you'd heard. Besides, I'm the one who encouraged her to go after you. Why would I go that far just to ruin it now?"

Bella felt shame once again over-take her. He was right, of course. From the way the kids at her table spoke about the Cullens, they didn't make a habit of building bridges. She understood why though, the others alienated them with little consideration. Bella recalled questioning Mike during gym about why no one tried to befriend them, and he claimed it was because they were unapproachable, that any time someone tried they would glare or just out-right ignore them. It was difficult to tell whether the chicken or the egg came first in this situation. Did they act that way because of the rumors, or did the rumors start because they acted that way from the beginning? Or did they adopt that air of aloofness from the beginning?

Edward left her alone for the last half of the period, deeming it a successful conversation. Bella wasn't an inherently cruel and mistrustful person, she was just a young girl who'd experienced and survived a traumatizing event. She lost her mother, moved to a new town, has to make friends in an unfamiliar school, suffers from panic attacks and nightmares, and now she's dealing with a vampire coven that's taken a shine to her? All of that in less than a months' time. It was input overload, and he was impressed that the worst she'd done was throw a small tantrum. A normal human would've had a psychotic break by now, but he had a hunch that Bella was far from ordinary.

* * *

Bella avoided nearly everyone for the remainder of the day, especially during lunch. Her exhaustion was starting to weigh on her and she wasn't sure she could handle Mike and Tyler yelling for an entire hour, or Laurens inevitable bitchiness. She opted for one of the outside tables that sat barely within view of the cafeteria windows. This was more for her own security than anything. Bella kept her back toward the building, knowing that if she sat the other direction she would see Alice through the clear panes.

She crossed her arms on the table and nestled her head in the crook of her elbow. She'd spent the last couple of hours trying to come up with a way to apologize to Alice, but she was still afraid of rejection. After all, Bella didn't exactly deserve her forgiveness. She wondered if it would be such a bad thing to keep her distance from the Cullen family; that maybe her life could balance itself out, but that would be misplaced blame. They were not the catalyst that spiraled her life out of control, and at this point Alice, and now Edward, were the only ones going the extra mile to keep her grounded. She snapped at Alice for treating her like a child, but the truth was that she was the first person to take her seriously. Bella closed her eyes.

 _It should be safe to rest them for just a moment…_

"….."

 _Huh?_

"-ella…"

 _An angel? Am I dead_?!

"Bella, wake up."

Bella's adrenaline surged and she shot up so abruptly that she almost fell from the bench. When did she fall asleep, and who was saying her- oh. Alice was sitting across the table from her, one hand propping up her chin, and the other clasped securely in her own. An angel indeed.

"Alice!" She almost shouted. "I-um, why are you here?"

"I saw you pass out on the table and wanted to check on you." She raised one eyebrow and smirked. "You were sleeping so soundly that you were drooling, and it was so cute that I couldn't bear to wake you."

"Oh my god!" Bella untangled their fingers and hurriedly wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her sweatshirt, unable to fight off the impending blush. "And why were we holding hands?!"

"Oh, that," Alice shrugged. "You started twitching and grabbed my hand. I tried to let go because I didn't want to make you uncomfortable, but every time I did you would grip tighter, so I stopped. I don't mind, it was flattering."

Now that she was over her initial mortification, they fell in to an uneasy silence. Bella was expecting a lot more resentment, but Alice once again proved the extent of her kindness to be immeasurable. Bella squeezed her eyes shut and roughly rubbed her face with her sleeves, but was unprepared for what she saw when she opened them again. Alice was looking at her with a tender expression that warmed her to the core, and she felt a renewed determination.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you." Bella steeled her nerves and charged on. "It wasn't fair to take my frustrations out on you, and what I said was too harsh even by my standards. I never meant to snap at you like that, I'm just wound too tightly right now, and I haven't been sleeping well since….you know. That's no excuse for the way I treated you, it's just an explanation for why I went off so easily. Do you think you can forgive me?"

Alice blinked in surprise at the admission. She didn't seek her out with the intention of demanding an apology. It was true that Bella's words cut her, in fact she had spent first and second period agonizing over what to do about it, but the course of her own future remained on track and she took some comfort in knowing it would work itself out. Unbeknownst to Bella, Alice forgave her long before she asked for it. Bella grew quiet once more and Alice took the opportunity to relocate to the other side of the table so she could envelop her in a hug.

"Oh, Bella, what am I going to do with you?" Alice's heart soared when the brunette returned the gesture and clung to her as though she were the only thing holding her to the earth. Her face was buried in the soft fabric of her jacket, and Bella reveled in the scent of Irish Spring that enveloped her; it was just a brand of body wash, but she was beginning to associate it with the petite woman.

"Your best option is to just throw me in to the nearest volcano like a sacrifice." The response was so bizarre and unexpected that Alice couldn't stop the laughter that bubbled up.

She rubbed Bella's arms rhythmically. "Well, I won't tell you that it's okay, because it's not. It's alright to be angry, or sad, you just can't take it out on people who don't deserve it." A nod of acceptance. "That being said, I forgive you, and I understand why it happened, so let's move on from this. Is there anything that you want to talk about?"

Bella realized that she was giving her an open ended invitation and placing the ball in her court, but the school yard wasn't the proper place to delve in to the topics she wanted to address. Inviting her over was as good an option as any, but the idea of potentially having Alice in her room filled her stomach with frenzied butterflies. She released her hold and searched Alice's face, detecting a flicker of uncertainty in her wide, golden eyes.

"Yes, but not here. It's a long story and I have a lot of questions I want to ask, but…would you be okay with waiting until this weekend? I promise I won't ignore you again, I just want to get all of my ducks in order."

"Don't worry," Alice leaned forward and put her lips less than a centimeter from Bella's ear, "If I have my way, you won't be able to avoid me even if you wanted to." Alice pressed a chaste kiss to the brunette's cheek and swiftly bounced away to dodge a swiping hand. She made way for the doors leading inside, but stopped to throw a wink over her shoulder.

"You sly little _minx!"_ Bella practically yelled, inciting musical laughter as she scrambled to gather her things and catch up.

* * *

 **And there it is, chapter 6! If you guys notice any inconsistencies, let me know. I try to reread old chapters and catch them, but a few still slip through sometimes. A few things might be confusing about certain details of the story, but don't fret, all will be explained in due time! Thanks for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7 pt 1: Lost Souls and Reverie

**Thats right, part one, because this chapter became so long that I had to split it in two and sure I could've just made the second half chapter eight but I don't want to. This one took a bit longer because we don't have wifi right now, so the only time I can research what I need are the days I go in to work early and mooch off their wifi xD**

* * *

The days leading up to Saturday went by agonizingly slow, and true to her word, Alice made it a daily challenge to keep Bella's mind focused on her. Each morning she would meet Bella in front of whichever parking space that Jake chose. She would swear up and down that Alice wasn't there when they pulled in, but she was certainly there when she looked up from pulling the helmet off. Good morning died on chapped lips, cut off by the linking of their arms that would catch her off guard every time. The pixie toted her around the halls talking her ear off; a trend that became the norm between their classes. Alice took it so far as to grace their lunch table with her presence; it was awkward at first, with most of them eating in stunned silence, but Angela was quick to make her feel welcome. Bella thought that Lauren vaguely resembled the cartoons where they turned red in the face and blew their top like a miniature volcano.

Bella found herself anticipating the wide honey eyes that she knew would be looking for her. At one point Alice progressed to hand-holding, which not only painted her face the deepest shade of cherry, but would also garner her a plethora of questions from Mike, Tyler and Angela. Her insistence that they were just getting closer as friends was met with relentless taunting courtesy of the two football players. Angela would just give her an 'I know something that you don't' face. Then, when it was just the two of them, she would ask Bella subtle questions about how she felt toward the smallest Cullen, only to sigh in exasperation when Bella reiterated her answers about friendship.

Regardless of what she was saying, Bella's reactions were conspicuous. Alice's heart sang like a canary each time she caught those deep brown eyes staring at her when Bella thought she wouldn't notice. She didn't know it yet, but she was hooked on Alice. By Friday, Bella was coming out of her initial shock at the situation and two things came to her attention. Her hands were perfectly healed, which should've been impossible, and the things that went bump in the night did not come back. She briefly mulled over it in her head, but as if she was developing a sixth sense, Alice would notice her lost in thought and provide a distraction.

It became apparent that Alice was demanding her attention and simultaneously keeping her from thinking too much about things that might shift her mood. She would later wonder if it was intentional or not.

Jacob, on the other hand, found the new circumstances deeply troubling. His attempts to protest were instantaneously shut down by Bella. No matter what approach he took, he couldn't seem to convince her out of meeting with Alice every morning. It was beginning to grow heavy on his shoulders. His crush and best friend was being swept away, by a vampire no less, and he was powerless to stop it. He would fix the vampire with a seething glare, to which she simply replied with a triumphant smile. It sent his temper in to such a whirl that he'd have to leave before it got the best of him. His determination to separate the two climbed to all-time highs.

* * *

The Cullen mansion seemed to visibly lose tension following Saturday's arrival. From one end of the home, a loud sigh of relief was superseded by a faint 'thank god' from the opposite end. Outside of school hours, Alice spent the afternoons pestering her siblings relentlessly. Jasper was the closest to her and willingly went along with her whims, and Emmett was never one to turn down a chance for a video game partner, but Rosalie and Edward were ready to ban her from their mates. Esme did her best to enlist her help with design plans to give her other children some alone time, but Alice grew restless and she would have to kick her out to go hunt.

Now, Rosalie sat leaning against a leather headboard, one knee up and her other leg crossing over it, with a magazine blocking her view of the rest of the room. Clothes were flying left and right out of the open double doors of Alice's closet, and she was on outfit number four. Her incessant babbling and complaining had started grating on Rose's ears, and eventually she began tuning her out in favor of the latest Motor Trend. The boys went on a "last minute" weekend camping trip, leaving Rose and Esme to deal with their anxious sister. Alice had begged for some sort of input on what to wear, and Esme pulled rank on Rose. She would withhold from Emmett for at least a week as punishment.

"I'm listening Alice, calm down." Rose lied, flipping to the next page without looking up.

"Rose I'm serious! What should I wear?!" Alice's bottom lip poked out in a pout.

Rolling her eyes, the blonde put her magazine down and slid to the end of the bed, allowing her legs to hang off the side. "I'm pretty sure you could show up to Bella's house in a burlap sack with crocs and a feathered pimp hat and the girl would still drool over you."

"That's not what I'm worrying about, what if Chief Swan is there? I want to make a good first impression."

"Alice, you've already met Chief Swan, he's friends with Carlisle, remember?"

"I know!" Her hands went up in the air and she came out of the closet in yet another outfit. "It's different, I'm going there as Bella's friend and hopefully future partner, not just as Carlisle Cullen's daughter."

Rosalie didn't reply, simply knelt down near the pile of clothes and briefly searched them. She apparently found what she was looking for, because a soft 'Ah' escaped her lips, and three articles of clothing flew at Alice's head. Alice raised one eyebrow at what she held; a form hugging, short sleeve, white crew neck shirt, a pair of faded sky blue skinny jeans that sat high on her waist, and a thin silver belt with intricate designs. Alice held them at arm's length questioningly; they felt awfully simple compared to what she was considering.

"Don't look at me like that." Rose scoffed. "Think about it for a minute. Bella isn't a flashy person, so I assume her father isn't either. It's simple; you're not dressing up to take her on a hot date to Europe, you're just spending time with her at home. If you wear designer clothes just for a relaxing day in, don't you think she'll feel pressured? It's obvious from her bland wardrobe choices that she prefers comfort over style."

Alice worried her bottom lip. "I guess you're right, thanks Rose."

"Whatever, just get ready and go so we can finally stop listening to you ramble on and on, it's a new level of cruelty that I can feel mentally drained and not be able to sleep it off."

* * *

"So a Cullen kid, huh?" Charlie repeated for the fifth time that week.

Bella didn't respond. She woke up that morning and went on a cleaning tirade, going for every nook and cranny that she could find to assure that each spot was devoid of dust or debris. Charlie didn't question it. Similar to Alice's family, poor Charlie spent the last few dinners listening to his daughter go on animatedly about all of her new friends; mainly Alice. If he was honest, he didn't care if she brought home an alligator and called it her best friend, he was happy if she was. Especially since he was no longer waking up to screaming down the hall. She didn't seem to be having debilitating nightmares, and she was talking to him more than her first few days in Forks.

Charlie tried to offer assistance, but that earned him a hard stare and banishment to the living room. He supposed she didn't trust his cleaning skills due to the untidy state of the house when she first arrived. It wasn't like he had dishes piled up or loads of unclean laundry, he just had a habit of leaving paperwork, magazines, or other various items in unconventional places. He's since been working on it after Bella scolded him for somehow leaving a case file in the cabinet with the cereal. His only defense was that he needed one hand for a bowl, and the other for a cereal box.

"You do still plan on heading in to town for most of the day?" An eager face popped up from the hallway.

"Yes, yes, I get how you teenagers are." He sipped a beer nonchalantly and raised one bushy black eyebrow. "Jeez, Bella, with the way you're acting I would think you're inviting some _boy_ over."

"Ew. Dad, no, I promise it's just Alice. The only boy who comes here is Jacob, and he's practically family." She darted away once more. Perhaps to finally change out of her pajamas.

Charlie began to wonder if she was going to realize it herself, and if she would be up front with him when she finally did. "Just Alice, huh? Just Alice my lily white behind." With a small understanding smile and a shrug to himself, he resumed flipping mindlessly through the cable channels

"I'VE GOT IT!"

He didn't flinch in the slightest when his daughter came sliding down the railing almost on hour later, tripped over the corner of the carpet and practically face planted against the front door. Definitely his spawn. Bella wrenched the door open and instantly deflated. Instead of the bright-eyed little pixie woman she was expecting, before her stood a six-foot-five man-child. Her brows came together in confusion and she grew anxious at the idea of Alice accidentally showing up while Jake was there. It was obvious to her that the two had a lot of tension, and having them in the same house was probably not a good idea.

"Oh. What're you doing here?" She hadn't meant to sound so clipped, but there it was.

Jake didn't reply for a minute, just looked her up and down as if he had no clue who she was. Her hair was brushed back to reveal her forehead and it came down to the left side where it lay across her shoulder in a loose braid. She also wore clothes that he wasn't aware she owned. She usually wore t-shirts and jeans around him, so he was under the impression that she didn't own anything else, but now she stood before him in jeggings that hugged her hips and a red crop top hoodie over a white tank top.

"Helloo? Earth to Jake?" Bella waved her hand over his face, flinching when he did.

"Sorry! You look nice, I was just surprised because I didn't know you could dress like a girl." He twisted away ballerina style when that same hand launched out to hit him. "Kidding! I have something for you."

"What? What is it? Jacob Black I swear to God if you drop a spider or some other bug in to my hand I will drop kick you in to the next life." Bella tentatively held her palms out under his now outstretched fist. Her jaw fell when he dropped a set of keys in to her hand.

"We've been friends for almost ten years and you still doubt me?" He flashed her a crooked grin, stepping out of the way as she bolted out the door.

"Holy shit! So it's ready, right? I can drive it now?" She swung the door open and climbed in, running her fingers over the frayed material of the steering wheel.

"Of course, she's old but after my work she'll drive like the well-oiled machine she is." Jacob was watching her fondly.

"I'm so fucking excited to drive it to school on Monday!" Bella was bouncing in her seat, but stopped when she remembered Alice. She would be there any minute. "Oh, Jake, you've gotta go, I promise I'll take you out to lunch or something as a thank you."

Jake raised a single eyebrow at her, and began following her back up to the house. "Why, you have a hot date?" It was just a joke, but the way her cheeks tinted pink made his head reel with more questions. "Wait, no wait a second."

She paused and whirled around to face him, attempting to mask her flushed skin. Bella was staring at him, waiting for him to follow up, but nothing came out of his open mouth. Jake was looking at her as though she'd grown two more heads and she began to wonder if it was because of the date. Not that she was even sure she could call it that, after all, it technically wasn't. She could admit that she was calling it a date because she wanted to believe Alice was attracted to her that way she was to Alice, but in reality was she was coming over so they could talk. Bella desperately wanted to know what her and her family were, because by this point she was one hundred percent sure they weren't human.

"Jake, if you stand there with your mouth open you're going to swallow flies." Bella crossed her arms over her chest and stuck her hip out in an impatient stance.

"So you have a date."

"Of sorts." She couldn't tell him who, he would lose his shit.

"That's not how that works, it either is or it isn't." He pointed out. Jake began going down a list of potential peers. The only person he'd seen her with the last few days was…. His face paled. Only one person would get this reaction out of her. "Bella...Is Alice Cullen coming over?"

"Uuuhh…" Bella looking to the sky, as if trying to come up with a lie. Resigning herself to her fate, she opted for the truth. She wouldn't be ashamed of her friendship with Alice just because Jacob didn't like her. "Well, yeah, she is. I invited her, and Charlie kind of wants to meet her. I didn't know you would be coming by today. I know you don't like each other, which is why I said you should leave. I don't want you two fighting in front of the house."

"She's been hanging on you nonstop all week, it's gross, you shouldn't be friends with her Bella!" He was unprepared for the withering glare he received.

"Ex-fucking-scuse me?" Bella looked at him incredulously. She straightened her back and stood toe to toe with him. "Why? Are you jealous? I _like_ her, Jacob, I really like her, is that a problem for you?"

"Yes!"

"Is it because she's a girl?!"

He flinched. "No! Look, I don't care if you're in to women, you're my best friend and always will be, but it's because I know her type, and she's dangerous! She's not good for you!"

"I have bad news for you, Jacob Black." Bella jammed one finger in to his chest, fixing him with a look of cold fury. "You are not my father. You're not even my brother. You don't get to decide my friends for me. You should leave."

"Bella, hold on."

"No. Go home, Jacob, I really don't want to see you right now."

Jake was stung by her words, but he knew she wasn't going to budge. His temperature was raising sharply and he ground his teeth to keep his cool. He didn't want Alice anywhere near Bella, but it was becoming quite clear that he wouldn't be able to convince her that she was a danger. Talking to her now that he'd royally pissed her off would be impossible, so instead he acquiesced and apologized before climbing on his bike and driving away. Bella was pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration and groaned. How dare he speak to her like that and try to demand such stupid things.

"Don't be too hard on him." Charlie chuckled from the doorway. "The kids had a crush on you since you were small enough for me to carry you both."

"Dad!" She gasped. "How long were you standing there?!"

"Long enough to know I was right."

"Right about what? Dad? Hey, don't shut the door on me!"

* * *

Sometimes you can tell someone's personality from the way they knock, and Bella thought how stupid it was for her to think of that. Alice was there – definitely this time – and she only knew because the knuckles against the door were rapping daintily, as if trying not to startle whoever might be on the opposite side. After calming down from her spat with Jacob, Bella was on edge for a whole new reason and she stood in front of the old piece of oak just staring.

In the end, Charlie was the one to reach around her and open the door, muttering some vague comment about how long she'd been standing there. Alice's cheerful face was decorated with a wide, beaming smile brighter than the sun itself. There was an exchanging of pleasantries and she knew that Charlie was already being wrapped around the pixie's little finger. Bella found her charm impressive, but not all that unexpected; the compliments to his home, to his person, and then the ones in which she would praise his parenting and what an amazing daughter he had. Bella was beginning to wonder if she would ever be a normal shade of color around her.

Although, it helped that her dad was equally as red. At least she knew which side of the family she got that from. After about twenty minutes of the two of them talking, Bella was flashing subtle hand gestures and looks to Charlie to get him to leave. Alice had undoubtedly noticed, but was polite enough to pretend otherwise. Charlie, however, rather conspicuously rolled his eyes at her and promptly announced that he would be spending the day with Billy Black down at the Res.

"Um, so…" Bella stood awkwardly in the doorway of the living room after seeing her dad out, scrambling for a conversation starter.

Neither of them spoke for what seemed like an eternity. Bella felt herself choking on the tension that was seeping in to the room, but she had never invited a friend over before and was unsure on how to be a proper host. Even back in Phoenix, where she'd had plenty of friends, Bella hadn't taken the initiative to host a get together. Alice must have recognized her internal struggle because she smiled and tilted her head cutely. Bella felt a strange presence surrounding her and felt herself fill with a comforting warmth.

"Bella, relax and come sit with me." Alice was patting the couch next to her.

Bella started toward her mechanically, but intentionally put a cushions worth of space between them when she sat down. There was a momentary flash of hurt in her honey irises and she hated herself for putting it there, so she scooted over, minimizing the distance between them.

"I'm not really sure where to start, if I'm honest." She sat crisscross, restlessly fidgeting with her thumbs. Alice mimicked her position unconsciously. "I mean, I have a lot of questions, and I'm sure you do too."

Alice hummed, her head tilting back thoughtfully. "I do, if you're okay with answering them, I don't want to upset you." She needed to approach the subject cautiously, Alice didn't think she could live with herself if she caused the girl to cry again. One time was already too much for her heart to take.

"I think I'll be okay. If it's too much, I'll let you know."

"Will you tell me about her?"

And she did.

Bella told her about Renee, about how eccentric and happy she was, how she was the one who taught her that life was a gift because you only had one. She recalled some of her favorite memories with her mother. Like the time no one showed up to her superhero themed thirteenth birthday, so she and Phil had dressed up as her favorite superheroes and they all went to an amusement park in their costumes. Then there was the first time she'd had her heart broken so her mom bought a constellation projector and the two of them stayed up all night learning about the different constellations and trying to make each other laugh.

Alice listened attentively, unintentionally leaning in. She was completely absorbed, basking in the love and affection that was radiating from Bella with each new story, but also saddened by the tinge of grief that laced her words. The girl was trying so hard to be strong because it's what her mother would have wanted. She couldn't fully relate to the amount of loss that Bella was experiencing, since she'd lost all memory of her human life before turning, so she tried to compensate by offering her unconditional support.

"I wish you could've met her." Bella gave her a forced smile, her eyes shining with unshed tears. She didn't struggle when Alice pulled her in to an embrace, but instead melted in to her petite form. Normally she didn't prefer people being so touchy, but she was growing accustomed to Alice being in her bubble. The warmth from earlier returned and her muscles unclenched instantly.

"She sounds like a lovely woman." Alice murmured softly.

They sat like that for a good few minutes before Bella remembered that there were more pressing issues at hand. Alice drew her knees to her chest when she suddenly pulled away and donned a look of renewed determination.

"Thank you for listening, but I know we aren't here just to talk about my family." She said, steering the conversation back to their main topic. "Ask me what you _really_ want to know."

Bella was direct and it never failed to impress her. Her wide, golden eyes were trained securely on the girl who was now facing her as well. "I know from the day we met that you had a run in with something….strange, so that's no secret, but what happened the day you snapped at me, Bella? You were obviously sleep deprived, and your hands were burned. Speaking of which." She grabbed a pale wrist and flipped it over. A few emotions crossed her face, but the most prominent was disbelief. "That's impossible." She whispered, barely grazing the undamaged skin with her fingertips.

"Alice…how did you know that it was a burn?"

Alice looked from her hand, to her face, then back to her hand again. She shook her head. "It's my turn for questions right now. Quid pro quo, you tell me your secrets and I'll tell you mine."

She appeared dissatisfied with that response, but relented none-the-less.

"Okay, I owe you that much. I had a nightmare, but it was more than that." Bella shuddered once, then exhaled sharply through her nose, summoning an iron will. "The creature that killed my mom came back. In the dream, at least, or, well, I think it was just a dream. It crawled through the window and came after me, but when I put my hands on its face to push it away I somehow scorched its flesh. Whatever I did was enough to scare it away. I thought it wasn't real, but when I woke up I found scratch marks on my window sill and my hands were burned. I haven't seen it or had that dream since that night."

Alice sat there, doing that weird thing where she stopped moving, stopped breathing and essentially turned in to a living statue. If she didn't know any better, Bella might think she was dead. She hated it, but more so because she was not a patient person, and the anticipation of waiting for a reply was torture. After a couple of minutes her brain restarted and she blinked; once, twice, three times, then grew very solemn.

"Bella," Her tone was guarded, and cautious; they didn't have the time or resources to work out that mystery just yet. Carlisle would want to know about this, but she also didn't want to just spill the girls business without permission. First, Bella would need to know about them, then she would need to talk to Carlisle herself. "I want to address that in a little bit, but do you want to tell me why you were so upset with me specifically?"

Bella's face flushed for the third time that day. Yup, she knew it, she would never be her usual pale peach hue around Alice ever again. If it wasn't shame at her own behavior, it was embarrassment at Alice's, and there was no escape. "It's a little ridiculous, and completely one-sided. It felt like I was being lied to, but then Edward pointed out that no one has lied to me because I never bothered to ask about the things I was concerned about."

She sighed. "I thought maybe I was just losing it, that my mom's death caused something inside me to snap. I let everyone convince me that what I went through was milder than what it was, I let them convince me that I was hallucinating or coming up with a version that would be easier to cope with. They said making it fictional made it less real, but I know what I saw, and I know what I see in _you_."

The look Alice gave her then made her bristle defensively. It was a knowing look, as if she had anticipated where the trajectory of the conversation was headed. Which, of course, she did. It was never a matter of if, but when.

"You and your family," Bella swallowed her irritation, "You're not human. Whatever attacked me was not a wolf, or a mountain lion. Everyone has been making me feel stupid but I'm _not_. You guys don't eat, sometimes you rip the food to small bits, but I've never once seen you put anything in your mouth-"

"Oh, I put plenty of things in my mouth." A smile and wink was followed by a strangled cough.

"Alice!"

"I'm sorry, go on." She put a hand over her mouth, comically over-emphasizing an effort to hold her tongue.

Bella shot her a half-hearted glare, then continued. "You don't eat, your skin is too cold for any average person. Edward tried to use the excuse of poor circulation, but I checked, even people with poor circulation aren't as cold as you guys are. You're fast too. When I would arrive at the school you weren't there, but then I'd look up and you were. Don't dare try to tell me I'm imagining these things."

"Isabella Swan." Alice deadpanned. "At any point have I ever doubted you or tried to tell you that it isn't real or valid?"

"You haven't, but now you know everything that I know, so how about this 'quid pro quo' you were on about? You owe me some answers too."

Alice chewed her bottom lip. The treaty was preventing her from revealing that she was a vampire, and the only way she could figure out how to tell her was to guide her to her own conclusion. However, that wasn't an option Bella would accept. To be fair, she dug her own grave on this one. Alice fidgeted uncharacteristically, surprising Bella with her nervousness. It wasn't an emotion she'd believed Alice capable of, with her endlessly bubbly attitude and confidence. It passed as swiftly as it presented itself, replaced with a mischievous twinkle in her honey eyes. Alice placed one foot on the floor and went up on one knee, leaning in close to the brunette.

"A-Alice, what are you doing?" Bella's breath hitched when her nostrils were filled with an intoxicating scent that she couldn't recognize. It made her head swim and her chest heave slightly.

"I could always just show you how….supernatural I am." She husked in to reddening ear.

Bella couldn't stop the squeak she let out. She drew back from the pixie and pursed her lips as if to stop any more offending noises from passing them. That's when she observed the distinct lack of color in her eyes. There was barely a sliver of a gold ring around pupils that were as black as night itself and Alice was looking at her wickedly.

"Alice, why are-" A heavy handed knock at the door cut her inquiry short.

The two girls exchanged curious glances. Bella held up one finger to say 'just a moment' and went to investigate, wondering if it was Charlie was already back and had forgotten his keys. Alice watched her go, but unbeknownst to Bella she heard every word. The voice at the door belonged to her friend Jacob Black, one of the shifters from the Res. He was trying to persuade Bella to let him talk to her, that he wanted to make amends for his recent deplorable behavior and that he trusted Bella enough to get on good terms with her. Alice snorted to herself in laughter; he was a poor liar.

The door clicked shut and Bella returned moments later with a displeased face and a question on her tongue. She opened her mouth to speak, but Alice cut her off.

"You're going to ask if I'm okay having a one-on-one chat with our little friend outside."

"I-how did you know that? You know what, never mind. Yes, Jake asked if he could talk to you, but he's been a colossal ass lately and I don't blame you if you don't want to. I told him it was up to you, but to be honest I don't trust him not to start a fight."

 _Ah, so she_ did _catch his fib._ Alice thought to herself. "That's okay, Bella, I don't mind. Maybe it'll be good to let bygones be bygones, after all, he is your best friend."

The fact that Alice was so willing to be friendly with Jake when he'd done nothing but insult her was remarkable, and Bella's heart skipped a beat when it occurred to her that Alice might not actually like the idea, but she was doing it for her sake. She shifted on the balls of her feet uncomfortably, unsure that she could trust Jake. That notion struck her as odd; why was she so willing to put her faith in Alice, whom she'd only know for a week, but not in Jake, who's been in her life since they were kids? Bella couldn't place it, but being around the petite woman gave her a sense of comfort that she hadn't experienced before. Alice went to her with a cat-like grace, making no noise in her movement, and laid a hand on her arm as if to reinforce the idea that it would be okay. Bella nodded wordlessly and bit harshly on her bottom lip as the door shut behind Alice.

* * *

 **I'm not 100% satisfied with the turnout, but I've been working 50 hours a week recently to pay bills, so I was pushing to get this out while running on minimal amounts of sleep xD As usual, if you have any input, feel free to share! Thanks for reading!**


	8. Chapter 7 pt 2

**See, this is what I meant. If I had posted chapter 7 in one go, it would've been a near 10k chapter and that's just too much**

 **This chapter was always going to end this way, it was just a matter of getting there, so enjoy! No kissing or anything super intimate yet; just so some good ol' fashioned fluff. It's somewhere in there**

 **And thanks for the reviews guys, I start to look for some of my more frequent reviewers and it just makes me so happy that y'all are having as much fun with this as I am**

* * *

"Don't stand so close to me, you smell like wet dog." Alice crinkled her nose at the offending scent.

Jacob initially tried to instigate right outside the door, but Alice convinced him that Bella would likely hear them, so they relocated to the back of the house. That was her excuse, anyway; it was less to avoid being heard and more to avoid being seen. Alice was almost a hundred years old with plenty of practice when it involved self-control, but Jacob was still new to the life of a shifter and could blow a fuse with the tiniest of frustrations.

"You're one to talk, Leech. You smell like a decaying corpse." Jacob snapped back.

Alice rolled her eyes. "Anyways, why did you drag me out here? I was having a pleasant conversation when you interrupted."

His muscles visibly clenched with the effort of keeping his wits. He'd been holding in his anger for the last week, and now that he was alone with a vampire less than eight feet from him, it was proving to test his will power to fight the urge to kill instinct.

"You need to stay away from Bella." Jacob growled through locked teeth.

"Who are you to order me around? She's my friend, just like she's yours. You're no less dangerous than I am and I haven't said a thing about you driving her to school every morning." The nerve!

"It's different! I've known Bella since we were six, you've known her for less than a week! And I'm _alive_. I might be a shifter, but I don't have to feed off of humans to survive. You can't stay by her side forever, that would mean breaking the treaty, and you're whole family would have to leave or risk war."

"You know we don't feed from humans." Alice's face darkened at the very idea of feeding from Bella.

"She's going to discover what you are, and that voids he treaty!" He was scrambling for an excuse. If he couldn't persuade Bella to leave Alice, then he would need to convince Alice to walk away herself. "What can a human and vampire even do as friends? You can't go to the beach with her, you won't be able to see her when the sun is out at all actually, and you're ten times stronger and faster than she is. If you so much as grab her hand too hard you could break her!"

Alice could see that he was teetering on the edge, but she'd been waiting a long time to find Bella and was not about to back down from her future just like that. Bella had been an all-consuming force since her first vision of the girl; the friendly, loving shadow that followed her in every aspect of life, from the first time she opened her eyes as a vampire, to visions of days where they were happy and in love. Even without being able to see her face, she loved Bella with every fiber of her being, to the point of it being almost physically painful when they were apart for too long.

"I would never…could never hurt Bella." She said pointedly. "The treaty only specifies that I cannot openly reveal that we're vampires, it doesn't say she can't discover it for herself. If that happens, then it still holds and there's nothing you can do."

Jacob's heart rate increased and blood was roaring in his ears. He knew she was right. As long she didn't expose them herself then the treaty was still technically intact. "You will leave her alone, or the pack will take action." He was grasping for straws and they both knew it.

"You're not her father, Jacob, you don't get to decide Bella's friends for her." Alice's expression shifted angrily at the wolf trying to give her orders. "You will not tell me what to do like one of your little pack mates."

"I'm her best friend, she doesn't know what's best for herself right now. If she knew the truth about you, she'd never be friends with your family!" He snarled. Alice precisely repeating Bella's earlier words made his skin crawl.

Alice couldn't deny that stung a little. She spent many hours wondering if exposure would be followed by rejection, because there was no fate worse than your soul mate – your very reason for existence – not reciprocating. They were killers, designed for the purpose of hunting humans. Bella was prey to her kind and promising not to see her as such would make no difference if she didn't have trust. Alice had made the mistake once before, and it wasn't one she wanted to repeat, especially now that she was sure of who Bella was.

She would have to convince Bella not to speak a word of it to anyone, less she be a target for the Volturi, and if she denied that request….well, Alice tried not to think about it coming to that. She couldn't hurt the girl if she wanted to, none of her instincts would allow it this time, but that wouldn't stop others from trying. Those concerns were always squashed by the reminder that Bella had her suspicions well before that day, mentally noting the differences between them and humans since they met. Alice remembered how calculating she looked every time she would stare at them. She may not have a word for it, but she knew they were unnatural and was unbothered by Alice's clinginess.

"Do you know Bella at all?" Alice's asked firmly, demanding.

"I know her better than you, Leech." Jacob shook violently.

"Are you stupid?!" She was becoming exhausted with his efforts to come between them. "I see the way she looks at us, you wet dog! She knows our family is keeping a secret, I didn't have to tell her a thing. I'm willing to bet she suspects you too. It's only a matter of time until she figures it out, whether I'm around or not."

Jacob froze, dumbfounded by her words. Bella was more perceptive than he gave her credit for, and a better liar too. He _knew_ she was deliberately dancing around specific subjects all week because any time he brought up Alice she shut him down and changed the topic. The person in question chose that moment to step out on to her back porch. After waiting around the house for almost an hour with nothing to do she grew restless and decided to investigate. What apology could possibly take that long? Evidently a weird one. Bella was looking between the two, wondering just what was said to put a face like that on Jake.

"Uh, you good dude?" Bella asked, taking a bite of the apple she was holding.

"I, uh," Jake's eyes snapped to hers. "Yeah, Alice and I were actually just about to leave. She was going to say goodbye to you real quick." He sounded insistent.

"That's weird?" Bella chewed slowly, gracelessly replying with a mouth full of sweet fruit. "Because we were talking about her staying the night. It's been a long time since I've had a proper sleepover with a friend."

Alice's face morphed in to bewilderment; that hadn't been part of their discussion at all. It wasn't an offer she would pass up, but Jacob was prepared to move Heaven and Hell if it meant her leaving. Not that Bella would know that, and of course she was straightforward as always. Alice turned to him in alarm; this was going to be bad. She could almost see the lightbulb going off over his head, and not a second later his face twisted in rage and he took a threatening step forward. Jacob suddenly understood why Alice was so determined to be around Bella and there were only two outcomes to it. She would kill her by accident, or she would turn her on purpose. Both ways, Bella would be dead to him and he'd be damned if he allowed that to happen.

"You can't do that! She can't stay here!" Jake snarled, causing Bella to recoil and take a step back.

"Jacob, you need to listen to me." Alice held her hands up to display a sense of harmlessness, but firmly planted herself between him and Bella. At this rate he was going to phase. She was fast enough to move Bella a safe distance, but she feared the irrational part of Jake's nature would assume the worst and give chase, which would put them right back at square one. The most viable option was to convince the shifter to stay calm.

Jake was vibrating and a low rumbling was emitting from his chest; he was going to completely losing it. He wouldn't be able to keep himself from phasing due to his temper, and it didn't appear as though he was taking Bella's close proximity in to account. In the midst of the tension and panic, Alice was bitter about the interruption. Things were going well between her and Bella, they were finally making progress. She was still unsure of how to lead Bella in the right direction, but if Jake phased and she was forced to fight him to protect her, it would all be out in the open. There was only one problem with that; Bella could potentially be hurt. She didn't think she'd be able to keep from snapping his neck if he so much as gave the girl a paper cut.

"I know I'm the last person you want to listen to right now," She maintained her non-threatening pose, speaking to him composedly, "but I need you to focus. Bella is right here."

"You need to leave NOW!" He yelled, dropping a couple of octaves.

"I can't do that, not while you're in this state."

"Seriously Jake? You need to calm the fuck down dude. Go home. We're going back inside. If I'd known you were going to act like a petty, jealous child I wouldn't have agreed to this." Bella's words were searing.

Bella took hold of Alice's hand and turned to march back in to the house, and that's when disaster struck. Several things happened simultaneously. There was a cry of rage that tapered off to a howl, a resounding hiss, a sharp pain in her chest and a sharper pain in her bicep. When she looked up, she was laying on the ground in the mud, blood running down her arm and a dull ache just below her collar bone. Two things caught her attention when she sat up; an Alice colored blur going too fast for her to make out details, and a russet colored wolf the size of a grizzly bear in place of her childhood friend. The blur came flying in her direction and Alice lifted with a groan out of the small crater she created. Her legs moving on instinct, Bella threw herself between her and the oncoming wolf-bear and squeezed her eyes shut in preparation for collision.

It never came. Bella cracked one eye open to see hers and Alice's reflection in the large, amber eyes of the massive wolf. Alice managed to wrap an arm around her and tilt her away so she would take majority impact, but she was still recovering from the heavy blow and hesitated one second too long, which left no time to actually relocate the fragile girl. Lucky for both of them, Jake regained some semblance of humanity when he saw Bella throw herself directly in to his path. It was like an electric shock to his system. Not only was his best friend defending his natural enemy, but she'd put herself in danger to do it. Worse yet, he was the danger. The fight was over as quickly as it began and Jacob turned tail, taking off deep in to the woods.

* * *

Alice protectively carried Bella bridle style in to the house. At first, she contemplated giving chase at the demands of her inner beast, but when she realized Bella hadn't spoken a word since the mutt ran off, her instincts were going haywire with the need to go to her. Her sole focus was Bella, and she was beginning to worry that she might be going in to shock. Bella kept her arms wrapped securely around Alice's neck, briefly wondering how funny it must look for her to carry someone a full head taller like they were no heavier than a feather. Her thoughts were overwhelmed with the excess of new information at her disposal, and she barely registered Alice delicately placing her on the edge of the bathtub before rummaging through the cabinets.

"Top shelf."

Alice started at the comment, her head whipping around and one hand flying to her chest. "I technically can't have one but you nearly gave me a heart attack. I'm happy to see you're not going in to shock." A feeble attempt at humor. She withdrew the first aid kit and set it on the floor by Bella's feet, ignoring the quizzical look she received, then took hold of the injured appendage to thoroughly examine it. "It doesn't look bad enough for stitches, fortunately, but it's still a bit deep, and fairly long. I need to clean it and wrap it properly but…I won't lie; it's going to hurt like hell."

Bella bit her lip and nodded, allowing her to take a warm, soapy washcloth to her mud-caked arm and hissing in pain when it touched the edges of the open wound. Alice's muscles drew taut at the sound, and when she was finished she held up a bottle of isopropyl alcohol, honey eyes meeting chocolate, seeking permission. She screwed her face up and held her arm up dutifully, uttering a colorful string of curse words when the alcohol was dabbed on with a wad of cotton balls.

"I'm so sorry." Alice murmured. Keeping a level-headed during the scuffle was a cinch, but her fury at the mutt for hurting her mate returned with an ugly vengeance. She pondered if she appeared as animalistic on the outside as she felt on the inside at that moment. With a small noise of satisfaction, she finished up and wrapped it in gauze, diverting her attention to the spot on Bella's chest where she'd pushed her. "May I see it?"

Bella required no explanation and lifted her arms, ignoring the throb in her bicep as her hoodie was pulled up and over her head. Despite their situation, Alice's traitorous beast roved hungrily over the expanse of Bella's exposed, milky shoulders and prominent collar bone, only to wince and retreat at the glaring purple bruise peeking out over the line of her tank top. Bella was watching Alice carefully. The predatory look on her face was swiftly replaced by regret, hurt, and anger when her fingertips brushed tenderly along her flesh near the blemish. She blinked in surprise when Alice began rapid firing more apologies. She called her name once to no avail, then several more times before rolling her eyes. It was obvious that words weren't enough, so Bella cupped either side of her jaw and forced her head up to make eye contact.

"Alice, it's _fine_ , I'm fine." Bella insisted, noting the smoldering black depths.

"You're hurt, Bella, what about that is fine?" Alice asked incredulously.

"Well, the truth is – and I cannot stress the importance of keeping this a secret – but" She dropped to a whisper, "I'm actually….."

Alice waited with bated breath. What? What was she actually?

"Indestructible." Bella gestured to her wrapped arm. "That wasn't really blood, I just squirted a bunch of ketchup packets on my arm while you were engaging life or death with an angry puppy. I needed to test your first aid skills for….reasons."

Alice deadpanned. Only Bella Swan would have a near death experience and refer to her attacker as a puppy. Playing along, she replied "Is there any particular reason you carry that much ketchup around?"

"I feel like I always need to be prepared for a hotdog eating contest? My dad likes ketchup on his steak? It's the best condiment besides ranch? I require a lot of comedic relief? I've got a dozen of these, just pick your favorite."

It was so absurd, so bizarrely Bella that Alice couldn't stop the laughter that bubbled up from her chest. Bella exhaled in relief when the apprehension in the bathroom diffused and black returned to a normal honey hue. Alice reigned in her laughter and cocked an eyebrow.

"You know Bella, if you wanted to test my skills as a nurse," She licked her lips, an action that drew Bella's gaze downward, "There are much more….appealing ways to do so."

"Alice Cullen." Her voice cracked and she cleared her throat. "I highly doubt now is the time to discuss your sexual escapades."

"Who said I was speaking sexually?"

Bella's brain short-circuited, Alice laughed again. She'd walked right in to Alice's cleverly set trap, but she would gladly do it over and over if it meant hearing a sound as beautiful as that.

"I have to ask though, how are you okay right now?" Alice was curious on how Bella was handing it all.

Bella shuffled her feet, one of her numerous nervous habits. Truth be told, she wasn't sure herself why it wasn't hitting her harder. Maybe, further in the night or perhaps days from now, she would think back on it and have a panic attack over Jake transforming in to a whirling mass of fur and teeth, but for the moment she wasn't all that bothered by it. If anything, all it did was fill her with more questions that she still didn't have answers too. Was Jake a werewolf? How was Alice able to take him on so easily? Was she really heavy enough to put a literal indent in the Earth? What would Alice do if she really did have handfuls of ketchup in her pocket? Not that she did. Alice was studying her, waiting for the pieces to click in to place. Puzzlement – humor? – deducing and….there it was. Revelation.

"ALICE!" She cried so loud that the other woman flinched. "You made a fucking crater in my backyard! Are you okay?!"

Okay, maybe not the revelation she was hoping for.

"You got your arm sliced open by a wolf that just happens to be your childhood friend, I shoved you hard enough to almost crack your sternum, I just finished some twisted hand-to-paw combat with said friend, and you're asking me if _I'm_ okay?" Alice sighed in exasperation. "Have you no sense of self-preservation?"

"I've often been told that I don't."

"Are you not at all curious about what happened? About what I am?"

"Well, I guess, now it kind of seems insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but I'll bite. What are you, Alice?"

Alice gave her a reserved smile. "A vampire."

"That's funny." A pause. "Oh, you're serious? Shit, you're serious."

Bella clasped her hands together and placed them on her thighs, looking down at Alice in contemplation. Annoyance welled up inside her. Who was going to come out as a different species next? Her dad? She halted that thought process in its tracks before she accidentally thought it in to existence. There was a solid minute of intense eye contact. Bella wanted to be furious, she wanted to yell and scream because it was all so ridiculous, but her ire evaporated at what she found reflecting in the honey orbs. It was desperation for acceptance and understanding. Alice didn't want to be rejected because she was different.

"You're scared." She finally whispered.

"Terrified."

"Oh Alice, what are you doing to me?" Bella ran her fingers along a smooth jawline, enjoying the way the pixie leaned in to her touch. "In the midst of all this chaos and insanity, you are the only thing keeping my feet firmly planted on the ground, and I've only known you for a week. I don't know you're full name, or where you're from, I haven't met your parents or your siblings – well, besides Edward – hell, you're even a species that's designed to hunt me, but here I am, finding myself impossibly drawn to you."

"Mary Alice Brandon."

"What?"

"Mary Alice Brandon." Alice repeated. "It's my full name."

"That's a start." Bella replied with a small smile. "Let's go to my room – don't give me that look I mean it perfectly innocently. All the important cards are on the table, so I don't see why we shouldn't have a real sleepover."

Alice was in a daze of relief as she let herself be led by the hand to a bedroom on the opposite wall of the hallway. They looked quite the sight, in her opinion, a fragile human dragging the big bad vampire along behind her. Bella's room was about what she was expecting; minimalistic save for a single shelf of what appeared to be sentimental decorations. Alice stood awkwardly – or as awkwardly as a vampire could be – in the doorway of the room, not wanting to intrude on a sacred space. That's how it was with her kind, vampires were territorial so when her siblings would come to her own room, or vice versa, they dared not enter without some form of consent.

"Alice, for the love of all that is holy don't look so stiff and sit the fuck down somewhere." Bella's disembodied voice floated from the walk in closet.

That was good enough for her. She perched gracefully on the edge of the mattress. "Will Charlie mind that I'm staying over?"

"Nope!" She emphasized the end of the word with a pop, coming out of the closet decked out in the most adorable kitten pajamas that Alice had ever laid eyes on. A t-shirt and a pair of cotton shorts were thrown at her. What was it with people and hitting her in the face with clothes? "Dad will just be happy I'm having a friend over. Here, some PJs."

She was not oblivious to the brown eyes tracking her every movement while she stripped and redressed. They hung off of her frame slightly, making her think of all those cliché movie scenes where the girl is wearing the guys' shirt the next morning, and Alice was sure that she'd be blushing if it were possible. The whole idea – at least to her – was delightfully intimate.

As the hours passed and the sun lowered behind the tree line, the two of them passed time by playing twenty questions on and off between random stories. Alice told Bella about some of her adventures around the world, starting from the moment she woke up as a vampire. Though she left out a few of the….less admirable interactions. Astounded, Bella was convinced that her life paled in comparison, but Alice insisted and listened raptly. She acted as though her mundane human existence was fantastical in some way, and she thought that maybe to Alice it could be. Perhaps she had dreams of being human, despite her clear acceptance of herself.

As Bella grew tired they went from sitting to laying side-by-side on her full size mattress. She'd been a little worried they wouldn't fit, but Alice was small enough that she left a remarkable amount of space and still had room to move. Eventually, Bella's voice trailed off until it was replaced by quieted snores. Although there was ample space, Bella unconsciously gravitated toward Alice, who flinched when the girl rolled over to tangle their legs and drape one arm across her torso. There was a brief moment of panic when the sound of her heartbeat was inches from her face. It sizzled out, replaced by the pleasant realization that it didn't call that carnal side of her, and she allowed herself to relax.

Alice was appreciative that Bella was only minimally interested in the supernatural side of her. Most of her questions were about how she met her family and what she personally enjoyed, as opposed to her exceptional abilities. She was treating her no differently than she might any other human because Bella didn't care about what she was, she cared about who she was. Alice took great comfort in the warmth of the human curled up in to her side and let her steady breathing and heartbeat lull her in to a meditative state.

* * *

 **Let me make it clear that I do not hate Jake as a character, and I don't intend on him being a villain in this story. That being said, I have no clue what I'm going to do with the next couple of chapters. Filler chapters to develop the relationships between her and the other Cullens? Maybe establishing more between her and her human friends? More angst? More fluff? Let me know what you might like to see. I've already got a few chapters written but I'm not at a spot in the timeline where I can post them yet, I gotta get some build up first**


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